The Hippocratic Oath for Underground Doctors
by TheSilverHunt3r
Summary: Ougai Mori—Yokohama's most infamous underground doctor—is a formidable genius with a reputation on the same level as the Port Mafia's. His clientele and contacts range from the aforementioned Port Mafia to the Japanese government's Special Abilities Department. Ougai Mori's least known trait is his proclivity to somewhat accidentally adopt children with special abilities. Dad!Mori.
1. The Dancing Girl

Summary: Ougai Mori—Yokohama's most infamous underground doctor—is a formidable genius with a reputation on the same level as the Port Mafia's. His clientele and contacts range from the aforementioned Port Mafia to the Japanese government's Special Abilities Department. Ougai Mori's least known trait is his proclivity to somewhat accidentally adopt children with special abilities. Dad!Mori.

The Dancing Girl

—Ougai Mori

Germany

Rain poured over the streets, prompting the salary-men caught off guard by the sudden storm to rush to their homes. Their counterparts, those prepared for the storm, put up their umbrellas quickly, keeping a firm hold on the handle so that they would not lose their cover to a firm gust of wind.

A medical student struggled up the hill through the wind and stinging rain that seemed purposely aimed at his face. He was bent over, shielding the book bag clutched to his chest. He had just finished his paper—he wasn't going to let water destroy his hard work, even if it meant resigning himself to being miserably wet.

His destination, the local university, was within reach.

He turned a corner, hurrying as much as he could to get there. With his goal in sight, he started to sprint. His shoes skidded as he came to a stop on the smooth stone that made up the entrance. He pulled open the door and crammed himself in, trying to hide from the rain.

The inside of the university building was made of polished wood and veined marble, cold and intimidating. Being inside did not help him feel any warmer; instead, it only made him more aware of how wet and uncomfortable he was.

His shoes squelched as he headed for the only door with a ray of light that leaked around the wood and out into the dark hallway. He pushed open the door, the subsequent creaking announcing his presence. He walked down the stairs of the classroom, focusing on not slipping or dropping his bag—either would be rather mortifying to do in front of his professor.

"You look like a drowned cat," Kant observed. The man had a pair of spectacles perched on his nose, and there was a book open in front of him on his desk. Beside the book there were his notes, nigh intelligible squiggles written in German and Latin.

The student had tracked water across the floor, similar to how a soaked mop would. He smiled sheepishly. "I came to turn this in." He tried to dry his finger on his pants unsuccessfully and pulled the paper out from his bag.

Kant's eyebrows rose. "Thank you for turning it in on time. You're the only one."

The medical student replied as he was expected to, politely. He then quickly made his escape from the scrutiny of his professor back into the storm, to his home, or more accurately, the slums where he had managed to get a cheap bed.

He sighed.

He kept his head down as he battled his way down the hill. He almost wished he was headed up, like before—the strong fickle gusts of wind pushed against his back several times, causing him to nearly stumble and fall flat on his face.

It was hard to see where the puddles were. His pant legs were completely soaked. His shoes slipped even more on the path after being doused.

The storm had stolen the light from the sun, huddling over the town as a sort of protective shroud, refusing to move on. The dark clouds made the day appear as twilight, instead of early evening.

The student passed into an alleyway that somewhat blocked the rain.

There was an entrance cut into the alleyway. It was a crooked, narrowed doorway with the weathered door barely hanging onto the rusty hinges. The roughly carved sign informed those unfamiliar with the area that this was one of the small local pubs, hidden among the cramped streets.

'What should I do now?' The student thought. 'Go home now? Or wait it out in the pub, warm-up, and get something to drink?'

He made up his mind and carefully walked inside. Even if the storm didn't pass soon, he could warm up inside for a bit. His shoes squelched, and the old wooden boards creaked as he made his way to a seat at the end of the counter.

The medical student ran his fingers through his bangs, trying to make them less messy. In doing so, he exposed his eyes—they were an unusual color, a vivid violet. "I'll have a beer and a bowl of sauerbraten."

Taking a quick glance at his surroundings, he noticed there was a girl sitting next to him. She had blond hair, beautiful as gold, and bright blue eyes, pale as the sky on a fine day, unclouded by despair or pessimism. She smiled at him.

The student clumsily smiled back. For some reason, his tongue clung to the roof of his mouth, feeling fat and unwieldy, unusual for him—he had been said by many to possess a silver tongue. He only managed to introduce himself, and thankfully, he did it in German. "I am Rintarou Mori."

The girl's smile somehow managed to brighten even further. "Elise."

XXX

The next day, Mori found himself unable to focus. He was supposed to analyze the biology of frogs, but instead, he was distracted by last night's events.

He kept thinking about that girl from the bar, Elise, and the conversation they'd had. Elise liked sunny days and drawing. Her favorite color was blue. When she was a child, she had slipped on a patch of ice and hit her head, which left a pale scar on the back of her head, covered up by her long hair.

Mori pushed aside the thoughts. He was close to finishing his notes. He was getting close to the end of this semester—finals were fast approaching. He had no time to be spending at a bar, talking to a girl.

The thought of her crossed his mind once more.

He looked at the assignment. Then again, this wasn't due until tomorrow. . . . why not go? He had the time to relax.

Mori put on his coat and grabbed his wallet. If he was lucky, Elise would be there again.

XXX

Mori ordered beer and kartoffelpuffers, potato pancakes.

"What do you do?" Elise asked. Her eyebrows were raised, and she looked at him with curiosity.

Mori hummed. "I'm from Japan, as you already know." He gave a slight nod towards Elise. "I'm a medical student."

Elise's excitement grew at this piece of information, and her whole face lit up. "You're studying to be a doctor?"

'If we ever need a replacement for the sun, I know where to find it,' Mori privately mused. He quickly buried the embarrassing thought deep within his heart, where no one else could find it. "Yes." He tried to hide his smile at her reaction by sipping at his beer, but he was too slow, and Elise saw it.

Elise chuckled softly at him. "I'm a ballet dancer." Her eyes lit up as she spoke, a reflection of the fair German sky outside.

The lean muscle in her legs; the grace as she swayed slightly to the radio behind the counter that played classical music; the pair of pale pink ballet slippers in her bag; all of that testified to her statement being true.

Mori smiled, although he had already deduced that. Most people didn't respond well to deductions like that—it was better to keep them secret. "Really? Wonderful. Where?"

XXX

Mori hadn't shown up for a few weeks.

With no other way of contacting him, Elise had frequented the pub more in the hopes of running into the medical student.

The door opened, and the object of her thoughts appeared.

"Mori, what can I get you?" The friendly bartender greeted. He was a lot younger than the other bartender at this place, a grizzled old man with a section of his eyebrow missing.

"Just a beer," Mori replied, scrubbing a hand across his face.

Elise frowned as she turned to see him, concern written across her face. "Where have you been?"

"Finals," Mori explained as he collapsed into the bar stool. He had dark bags under his eyes, perhaps due to mental and physical exhaustion—Mori moved like an old man, stiff and frail.

Elise gave him a sympathetic look. "You should go home."

"I will, after I eat," Mori promised her.

XXX

It wasn't a particularly hot day outside, but not as cold as the past couple of days.

Mori had decided not to go home during break, opting for staying in Germany instead of returning to Japan. It cost less to stay here, and he wouldn't have to pay for the ticket.

"Back in Japan, what do you do during summer?" Elise asked. She was wearing a yellow summer dress, the shade contrasting perfectly with her hair. A daffodil was tucked behind her ear, slightly wilted as it had been picked in the morning.

"Well, there's catching bugs," Mori said straight-faced. It was a popular pastime among many Japanese boys.

Elise wrinkled her nose at him, disgust on her face. She hated bugs.

Mori laughed. He decided to answer seriously, and a hint of nostalgia crept into his tone. "There are festivals. Vendors sell food, masks. . . . And different games you can play. One is trying to scoop up a fish with this," Mori gestured, uncertain of how to describe it, "Flimsy net. Everyone dresses up and there's lots of beautiful kimonos."

"Kimonos?"

"It's a type of clothing," Mori clarified. He took out a notebook from his bag, quickly sketching an example of the clothing with a pen. He added a background: the festival, and a crowd of people. It was somewhat messy, but alive in a way that only art made with emotion could be.

Elise looked over his shoulder. "That looks wonderful."

'Not as wonderful as you,' Mori privately thought, but kept the cheesy reply to himself. He slid the drawing over, allowing her to see it more clearly.

Elise traced the figures in the drawing, smearing the ink onto her fingers. She smiled slightly, using the ink on her fingertips to shade the drawing, adding to the lifelike quality.

For those brief seconds, the drawing felt real to both of them; that if they leaned forward close enough they could fall into the painting of the festival and walk among the people there. For Mori it was nostalgic to see a memory of his childhood. He felt like it was almost a week since he had been home. . . despite the fact that it had been months. For Elise, it was a scene that belonged to a strange, alien world. She wished she could be there and explore to her heart's content.

XXX

Mori knew he shouldn't.

He knew they shouldn't.

But that knowledge didn't stop him from leaning closer to kiss her.

Elise knew she shouldn't.

She knew they shouldn't.

But that knowledge didn't stop her from tilting her head and kissing him back.

They knew they shouldn't.

They knew they should move farther apart and not closer.

They knew they should control the burning feeling of their hearts.

But that knowledge didn't stop them from everything after the kiss.

XXX

Elise stood outside the door of his apartment with an unreadable expression on her face. There was a shawl around her shoulders. She had her arms crossed, wrapped around her middle.

"Elise?" Mori muttered, confused. Usually, they met at the pub. He stepped to the side nonetheless, letting her in. "Tea?" He closed the door.

"Yes, please," Elise quietly replied.

Mori paused, looking at her.

Something had happened. Something that was enough for Elise to falter and become uncertain. But what was it? Mori did not know.

Mori said nothing. He waited for her to collect her thoughts and courage. Meanwhile, he started the tea.

"I'm pregnant."

Mori overfilled the cups, fingers frozen. His grip loosened as he processed what Elise had said and he dropped the pot. Half of one side broke into large ceramic pieces, letting the hot tea inside spill out onto the wooden floor. He stayed with his back to her. "What?" He whispered. How could he have been so foolish?

"Stay with me," Elise pleaded. She sounded close to crying. 'Don't abandon me,' she wanted to say, but could not. Her throat closed up with a flood of emotions.

Mori walked over, avoiding the mess he had made by dropping the tea pot. He wrapped his arms around and kissed her forehead. "Don't worry. I would never leave you," he whispered.

This was not only his mistake—it was their mistake. He would not let her bear it alone.

XXX

They got married soon after.

It was a small wedding, just the two of them and a priest. Elise had no family to speak of and Mori's was far away from home.

They visited the grave of Elise's grandmother together; the woman had taken care of her as a child. Elise cheerfully murmured about weddings and babies and homes, and Mori quietly thanked the grandmother for the granddaughter she had raised.

Mori sent a telegraph home, with as few details as he thought were necessary, to inform them of his current situation and that his studies were almost at an end. His family did not need to know more. Eventually, when he went back to Japan, they would know the details, and he would deal with their prying eyes. But for now they were to be kept in the dark about everything.

XXX

Mori had stared at the white walls of the hospital. He had desperately carried Elise inside after her water broke. She had started having contractions prematurely, but she was not due for another two months.

He remembered the cries of a mother in pain. The panicked yells of a doctor—of a nurse. There was little else he could do as he stood in the hallway outside of the delivery room. Everything the doctor said had not been consciously processed—"I am so sorry," was the first sentence, whispered in the grief and unfound guilt that the doctor held—but he knew exactly what it all meant anyways.

It was raining again.

Elise was supposed to give birth in that same hospital, paid by both of them pooling their money.

Mori stumbled his way down the street. He was on his way home, alone.

They were going to name their child Elise after her.

Mori felt rage and pain welling up in his chest, a toxic brew that demanded to be let out. The sound of sorrow, of those mourning, coiled it's way up his throat. He choked on his scream, not letting himself set his emotions free. The only thing he had control of was himself. He was not willing to lose that as well.

The rain soaked his skin, making him cold, but that was nothing compared to the chill that had seeped into his bones at the revelation given to him.

He had gained his happiness, retained it for almost a year. And he had lost it in one day, one unfortunate day.

He raised his head slightly as he recognized where he was. He would not walk into that bar. He could not. He could never. Her not being there, would mean she was gone for certain.

XXX

He graduated with full honors, as one of the youngest doctors ever, and returned to Japan soon after with a broken heart.

XXX

Yokohama, Japan

Mori strolled down the streets, his bag held above his head. The tail of his white coat was soaked, but largely unnoticeable due to its color. He seemed to simply walk along, ignoring any people rushing past.

To those around him, it seemed as if he paid little attention to the rain, as though he gave it little merit—unlike all of the people around him, the doctor was not hurrying by any means.

But his pleasant expression was disingenuous. Inside his mind, no matter how much he tried to push the thoughts away, he remembered her. He remembered blond hair and sky blue eyes. He could hear a bright laugh and feel a soft hand grasping his.

It felt real, too real. Mori looked down. He looked at his hand. And as expected, he saw. . . nothing. His lips tightened. He scoffed at himself; what had he been expecting?

He descended to the subway. He ignored the pooling water on the steps, that soaked through the bottom of his shoes, and stepped into the dark.

A/N

Note: Elise and Mori are like 18-19 years old here, at the beginning

Writing young Mori was an interesting challenge.

Rintarou Mori is Mori's real first name. Ougai Mori, is Mori's pen name.

The Dancing Girl is a work by Ougai Mori, about a Japanese medical student in Germany who fell in love with a girl named Elise. This part certainly does not end any happier for either character.

Elise is honestly the only character I've felt serious regret over killing. She was a precious ball of sunshine, especially compared to how depressing everything and everyone else is in this story.

Here's a link to the Dad Mori discord, come yell with me into the void: /WNWzPXq

Betaed by: Auroracode (on Ao3), RaquelBelle (on Ao3), and SonderQuill/UnderHisWings (on Ao3, , etc.)

Chapters:

1-Mori

Next: 2-?

And, now I'm going to go hide in a bunker for the next week so that I don't die from my readers.

-Silver


	2. Auguste's First Strike

Summary: Ougai Mori—Yokohama's most infamous underground doctor—is a formidable genius with a reputation on the same level as the Port Mafia's. His clientele and contacts range from the aforementioned Port Mafia to the Japanese government's Special Abilities Department. Ougai Mori's least known trait is his proclivity to somewhat accidentally adopt children with special abilities. Dad!Mori.

Auguste's First Strike

—Akiko Yosano

Yokohama, Japan

Mori felt around among the blood, using a pair of sanitary tweezers. He hit something hard and pulled it out. That should be the last of the fragments. The bloody piece of flattened nail fell into the jar, clattering against bent nails and scrap metal. The perpetrator had really put whatever he could find into that shrapnel bomb. Mori disinfected the area and put a patch on the wound.

He had been working for several hours on this unlucky thug. It was a good thing for the thug that his friends had the good sense to bring him to Mori quickly, without medical attention the wounds would likely have gotten infected.

A young woman appeared in the corner of Mori's eyes, a white dress fell past her knees and she had blond hair and blue eyes. But she wasn't human, the way her gaze moved was robotic. She did not breathe.

Mori ignored her. It was merely an apparition, a delusion of his mind after working for so long. He sanitized his tools and went to bed. He would wake up in a few hours to check on the patient and collect his fee.

The woman stood beside his bed.

Mori sat up. His mind no longer befuddled by exhaustion. . . he knew that she wasn't fake. He reached out and cupped her face.

She did not respond. Her face was a lotus white, no blemishes or scars or freckles, merely skin that looked to be crafted out of porcelain.

He grasped onto the hope in his chest. 'Had he been lied to?' The question reverberated in his lungs. "Elise?"

Her gaze focused slightly. "Yes?" Her voice was empty of any emotion. It was not Elise, no matter how much it resembled her. There was no life in her eyes.

Mori gripped the doll's shoulders, for that was all she was, and started to cry. His tears were sparse, his sobs were silent, but his body was wracked with them. He couldn't keep himself from shuddering heavily as he pushed down his screams.

To be wounded was something he was used to, to have something tear the scab off a partially healed wound and rub salt into it with a wicked grin? That was a new, painful experience.

His alarm went off again.

Mori glanced at his clock. "Stay here," he ordered. He knew he could do that somehow.

The underground doctor washed his face to ease the redness of his face and his eyes. He checked on his client, and handed the man off to the thug's friends, being given a wad of cash in return.

He went back to his bedroom and sat on his bed. He ran a hand down his face, trying to figure out what to do.

The young woman was still there. No, she was a doll. Not a woman, a doll. An it, not a she; it had a glassy-eyed look, betraying its inhumanity.

'That is still an idea, isn't it?' Mori thought. "Act human," he ordered.

The doll blinked at him. It started to move. It started to breathe. It smiled at him, blue eyes brightening.

Mori's voice broke as he ordered, "Stop." He swallowed. The doll could pass for her too well, it was too alike for him to ignore the resemblance. "Your name is. . . Elise."

"Yes, sir," Elise, the doll, droned.

Mori felt tired. He massaged the bridge of his nose. "Don't call me sir. Act. . . however you like. . . unless I order you to do something."

Elise nodded, a slow movement that looked like it should be accompanied by the metallic sounds of gears turning.

XXX

A Few Months Later

Mori appeared disinterested, although amiable. In his brain he was furiously figuring out the pros and cons of accepting. This was an interesting opportunity. "What rank would I be?"

The man in front of Mori was respectably calm and stern, no hint of any nerves. His name was Taneda. "First Lieutenant. You would be considered part of the Medical Corps, Mori-san."

Mori inclined his head. He seriously was considering it now. Playing as an underground doctor had gotten. . . tiring, as of late. "Would the Special Forces be able to call on me?"

Taneda frowned. He cleaned his glasses off with his sleeve. "If they heard of you, yes. But it is unlikely." Unless you had an ability, was left unspoken.

Mori shrugged. Something against the Special Forces? Officer Taneda could be an ability user. "May I have some time to think about it?"

"Perfectly acceptable." Taneda stood up. "Here's my card."

Mori accepted the card with two hands. He continued to smile pleasantly. "I'll get back to you soon," he promised. The government was willing to work with him. They needed doctors. They needed ability users. Mori would wait a day or two, get his affairs in order, and tell them his decision.

XXX

The building bustled with life. People flooded the corridors, rushing this way and that on various tasks.

Mori knocked on a door, dodging a stray elbow as he did so.

"Come in."

"First Lieutenant Rintarou Mori, reporting for duty, sir."

XXX

He was promoted before he knew it, all because of a suggestion that saved about twenty people's lives in a packed infirmary. But that quick rise in rank drew him some attention.

XXX

Kyushu, Japan

Mori stared at the concrete wall. His eyes lazily traced a crack.

Due to the scheme of a superior officer, he had ended up close to the front lines, even though he was a doctor. It was done in the hopes of him messing up or being killed.

Mori was stuck in a base under attack now.

He had offered strategic advice to the officer in charge of the base, but had been brushed aside. (He made a mental note of the man's name.)

He had no patients to treat. Which was why he was doing nothing except stare at a wall.

Bored, he estimated the enemy's current position.

Wait. . . was that right? He checked over his mental work. Yes, that would be right.

Mori smiled as a thought occurred to him. If he didn't have patients, then why didn't he get some while he had the chance?

He would either be called a genius or an idiot. And that would depend on whether or not he died.

Mori smirked as he grabbed his medical bag and summoned Elise. Time to slip off the base.

XXX

Mori was glad for once that he was wearing a uniform and not his white doctor's coat.

He was crouched beside a body. He pressed two fingers against the man's wrist, there was no pulse.

Elise stood nearby. She was dressed in army fatigues as well, she didn't breath or blink as she kept watch over Mori.

Mori heard a cough—a voice croaked something in English. He raised his head, glancing to his right.

Mori had found someone alive. But it wasn't one of theirs.

He approached the wounded foreigner with a calculating eye. The damage was fixable, definitely not lethal, it looked more like the man had been knocked out. He might also have a concussion.

What to do? Save him? Would a hostage be viable in this situation? Or should he just slit the man's throat and be done with it? Mori pondered.

Negotiations were still open. So yes, the base could use a hostage as leverage.

Mori hoisted the foreigner over his shoulder.

XXX

That somewhat insubordinate action got the pressure taken off the base and earned him another promotion.

General Yamashita was an army officer, far higher up than Mori. He wasn't terribly older than Mori himself. Yamashita used a letter opener to slice the mouth of the envelope; it was a restrained, jerky movement.

Mori folded his hands together. He was sitting in front of the desk, back perfectly straight. He kept his face neutral.

General Yamashita's eyes scanned the letter. His lips twitched downwards for a split second. "Congratulations, you are now a Major in the general army."

Mori almost smirked at his superior officer's barely disguised irritation, looked like he wasn't as far down the chain of command now.

XXX

Yokohama, Japan

A Year Later

Mori had an ability. Because of this he had been pulled from the general army and given the job of tracking down promising ability users to recruit. Basically, he was a talent scout for the government.

He was given files and lists to comb through. One of those on the lists was a woman who could control black shadows. Unfortunately, many turned out to be rumors and nothing of substance.

Mori wandered down the streets of Yokohama. It was drizzling lightly, enough to keep most people indoors.

A young girl came out of a sweet shop. Her clothes were threadbare. Her hair was greasy.

Mori watched as the girl crossed the street and entered an alleyway. He heard a sound from beside him, it came from Elise. He turned his head to find his ability already halfway across the street.

Mori frowned. Unease prickled inside of his chest, coupled with minor curiosity. He followed the two.

The girl was crouching next to something, face full of alarm.

Elise had stopped at the entrance. Her. . . its eyes held some emotion, a drastic contrast to the empty emptiness it had displayed before today.

The entrance of the alleyway had gathered a large puddle of water. Mori stepped over it with care. By the time he was looking up again, he saw the girl reaching out.

There was a small flash from the girl's hand. The messy pile of fur and mud moved from underneath her hand, it was a stray dog, previously on death's door.

"A wonderful ability you have there," Mori commented. He watched the girl jump and warily turn to him. "I'm Rintarou Mori." He spread a hand out towards his ability. "She is Elise." He pushed down the thoughts about how Elise was acting right now.

The girl kept her eyes on Mori, ignoring the dog that was walking away. "Ho Sho."

Mori smiled. "A pleasure to meet you, Ho-chan."

XXX

Mori waited until he was back in his hotel.

He summoned Elise, crossing his arms. "You moved without my orders, why?"

Elise did not reply. There was nothing in her that could reply, the emotion had left her. Her eyes were glassy and dull, like the eyes of a dead animal.

XXX

A Few Months Later

Tokyo, Japan

Immortal Army.

The words at the top almost made Mori freeze and glare at Yamashita.

They were planning to use the homeless girl he had found.

The government did not think of people with ability as human, and why should they? It was far more convenient to treat them as weapons.

Mori kept his eyes on the brief, skimming over the words of the document. If he looked up, he was likely to stab Yamashita, or since the man was two chairs down, throw a scalpel.

"Lieutenant General Mori, will you take the helm of this project?"

"Of course. It would be my honor, General Yamashita." Mori kept his tone polite. He predicted things would go south but didn't see any other options for himself at this time, and it would be far worse if Yamashita got his hands on Yosano. But Mori cursed himself that he hadn't entirely omitted Yosano from his weekly reports. That honesty was biting himself in the a*s now.

XXX

Osaka, Japan

"Because you had anywhere to go?" Mori mildly pointed out.

Ho Sho childishly puffed up her cheeks and refused to answer, but then she was still a child, not an adult. She wore a small nurse's outfit that had to be specially ordered for her size.

Having successfully cut off his new assistant's rant, Mori opened the door. "Attention! Meeting in the mess hall in ten minutes," he yelled. "We have a new recruit."

The men in the front hall would spread the word quickly enough.

XXX

Mori's men had been chosen for the Immortal Army project. They would hand over control of their base to another group and be transferred to different base.

"This is to be a trial run," Mori explained. "We are to hold down a fort right on the front lines."

"But, isn't trying to hold a base there hard?" Yosano asked.

"Practically suicidal," Mori agreed with a wry smile. Someone was undoubtedly trying to get them killed or at least, to break them; and he had a d*mn good idea of who it was.

XXX

Kyushu, Japan

A Few Months Later

Elise stood near Yosano. Just its mere presence kept the admiring soldiers as bay. To them, Elise was Lieutenant General Mori's personal assistant.

"Elise?" Ho Sho asked. She wasn't stupid; she had noticed her personal guard.

Elise looked at her. "Yes?"

"Thanks."

A smile formed on Elise's face. It made her look like she was human and not a doll.

XXX

Mori saw Ho Sho's fire for living, love for life, the refusal to let things die. He clearly saw it every time she helped treat the soldiers. While on one of their rounds, he remembered the ferocious look of the girl, a stalwart defiance against the pain of injuries and the encroaching terror of death. It made him smile.

Ho Sho turned her face upwards, catching the expression on Mori's face. She made a comment about it.

Caught off guard, Mori laughed.

Sho's eyes widened with shock. She had never hear Mori laugh. She had rarely seen him with any sort of emotion at all. For the first time, she saw him as human.

Mori culled the laughter welling up in his chest. He slipped his mask of cold indifference back on. He raised an eyebrow at the girl. "Really?"

Sho put her hands on her hips. She scowled. "Yes. And now you're back to being fake," She commented with some amount of frustration.

"You're a perceptive child," Mori noted, complimenting the girl. He couldn't help but think that Yosano was what little Elise would have been like, if she had the chance to grow up, with Mori's brain for medicine and her mother's strong spirit.

XXX

Tokyo, Japan

Mori noticed the plate of sweets sitting innocently on the desk. They were something yellow and caramelized, vaguely smelling of lemon. The sweets were only thing livening up the musty, well ordered office.

"How are things going, Lieutenant General Mori?" Yamashita questioned with faux concern. The collar of his army jacket bore the yellow patch of a General. The breast pocket had also been enamelled. He had become a Marshall.

"Well, sir."

"That's good." Yamashita kept his smile on his face. His tone slipped into something warm, as if trying to placate Mori. "I would like to take some of your men."

"How many, sir?"

"About half of your force," Yamashita's smile turned sly, "Assuming you aren't only just managing as it is of course." It was a blatant challenge. Yamashita was setting traps for his subordinate to fall into, as usual.

"It would be best to keep the men there that we already have. There is a possibility of a targeted strike in the future. And, the less people who know about the Immortal Army project, the better." Mori's eyes crinkled in false cheer as he joked, "No need to transfer my men around and let the whole army know, sir."

The corners of Yamashita's smile twitched. His nostrils flared slightly. His displeasure at Mori refusing to play along with his framing of the situation. "Very well then, Lieutenant General Mori, I'll find the men I need elsewhere."

Mori's eyes sharpened. So one of the goals of Yamashita's plan was to gain inside information about the project and what Mori had been doing. Yamashita was still interested in taking over directly.

"Dismissed."

Mori stood and bowed deeply to his superior officer. "Yes, sir."

XXX

Kyushu, Japan

Mori suspected the soldiers would turn sour eventually. He knew Ho Sho would figure out that the non-severely injured soldiers could go home if she didn't heal them. But Mori wasn't expecting the man—who had given Sho that butterfly hairpiece she always wore—to be the first one to break.

He turned his body, placing himself between Sho and the sight of the corpse. She tried to glance around him, but he covered her eyes with a hand. The girl was too curious to not try and get a look, but still far too young and innocent to deal with such a sight.

"Elise, take Ho-chan to the mess hall," Mori ordered. He closed the door as Yosano was being pulled back by his ability. Being nonhuman, Elise was strong despite her lithe appearance.

He noted the markings made by the hanged man. It was a tally of each time the soldier had been healed by Ho Sho.

Mori felt a sort of fury well up inside of his stomach. The hanged man had timed it so that the girl would be there when they found his corpse. The dead soldier knew the regular rounds Ho Sho took around the base. This was how the girl's genuine care was returned?

Mori sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Emotions would have to wait until later. Plans, Yamashita, and the thought of whether things had truly fallen through would have to be considered later as well. For now, he had a body to dispose of.

XXX

Yamashita would take over the project by tomorrow, when the suicide would be reported.

They needed to be gone by then.

Mori shook Ho Sho's shoulders to wake her up and cupped a hand over her mouth to keep her from talking. "Pack your things," he ordered. He removed his hand.

"Where are we going?" Ho Sho softly replied, confused. She rubbed her eyes.

"We're leaving," Mori simply answered.

Ho Sho stared at him in confusion through the dark. "Leaving?"

"Yes," Mori patiently responded. "Now grab your things. Meet me at the back in five minutes."

XXX

Nagoya, Japan

They stayed at a seedy hotel overnight.

Mori had already changed his outfit that morning, instead of army fatigues, he wore a white coat.

Mori handed a dress to Ho Sho; the girl went into the bathroom to change out of her nurse outfit.

Mori broke out the new, falsified passports. They would disguise themselves as a family. Rintarou Mori was now Ougai Mori, and Ho Sho was now Yosano Akiko.

While Yosano was gone for a minute, Mori decided to take the opportunity to meddle with his ability. Mori summoned Elise. He concentrated and Elise's appearance changed accordingly. She matured further before his eyes, matching the aging he had gone through over the past few years. Her clothes changed into something suitable for a normal Japanese woman. She looked what his wife Elise would have looked like. . . if she hadn't died. He pushed the feeling aside, the feeling of his heart breaking every time he looked at his ability.

Mori picked up his briefcase and medical bag from the floor.

Ho Sho, now under the identity Akiko Yosano, came out. She stared at Elise but didn't say anything, having spotted the frown on Mori's face.

"Ready to go?" Mori asked. He glanced out the window, it was raining, hard. At the gesture of his hand, Elise withdrew a large umbrella.

Yosano smoothed down the front of her purple dress. She had started to figure out what was going on. "Yes. Where are we going?"

"Yokohama." Mori plastered a smile on his face as he walked out the door, hearing two sets of footsteps behind him.

A/N

Mori has adopted his first child. There's more to come.

Auguste's First Strike was a poem by Akiko Yosano, about her baby son. It's a very interesting poem and I suggest you look it up.

Irl, Akiko Yosano is the pen name of Sho Ho.

Timeline note: Mori is 26 and Yosano is 11 by the end of this chapter.

Chapters:

1-Mori

2-Yosano

Next: 3-?

-Silver


	3. An Encouragement of Learning

Summary: Ougai Mori—Yokohama's most infamous underground doctor—is a formidable genius with a reputation on the same level as the Port Mafia's. His clientele and contacts range from the aforementioned Port Mafia to the Japanese government's Special Abilities Department. Ougai Mori's least known trait is his proclivity to somewhat accidentally adopt children with special abilities. Dad!Mori.

An Encouragement of Learning

—Yukichi Fukuzawa

Osaka, Japan

There was the metallic scraping sound of a key being inserted into a keyhole. The lock clicked and the door of the hotel room opened, closing soon after.

Yosano groaned and lifted her head from the pillow. She glanced at the clock between the room's two beds, it was seven in the morning. It was the time she usually got up at the base, but that didn't mean she liked it.

"I have breakfast," Mori announced, dully. In his hands was a cup of coffee, the rich scent pouring into the room along with the smell of baked goods from the bag in his other hand. He sat down at the small table.

Yosano got up. She peeked around his shoulders at the table. After a look at Mori's face, she snagged a small loaf of puffy bread from the bag.

Mori was nibbling on a cookie filled with red bean paste. It went well with his coffee.

Yosano sat in the other chair. She smiled as she ate a loaf of bread smeared with jam; it was good, soft enough that it melted in her mouth. She scrutinized Mori for a few minutes before asking. "Why are we heading to Yokohama? Isn't Tokyo right next to it?" Her voice held a trace of suspicion.

"Yes," Mori admitted. "But the government won't think to look for us there. And if they do, I have many contacts among the underground in that area." He gestured towards his medical bag. "A lot of criminals owe me their lives or their friend's lives."

XXX

Yokohama, Japan

Mori strolled down the street. His briefcase brushed against the side of his thigh with every step. The concrete sidewalk beneath his feet was cracked, weeds valiantly struggling through the slivers to bask in the sunlight.

Yosano trailed behind. She picked one of the dandelions growing in the concrete.

Walking beside Yosano, Elise carried Yosano's bag and Mori's medical bag. She watched as Yosano blew on the dandelion flower, spreading the white seeds out into the woods.

They came to a house. The windows were clouded with dust and the paint on the wooden door was peeling—the doorknob was rusted.

Mori pulled out a key hidden in a brick of the porch steps. He used it to unlock the door and stepped inside. He flicked the light switch, smiling in satisfaction as the foyer lights turned on with a warm hum. "It's a bit dusty, and might have some bugs by now, but it's safe."

"What is this place?" Yosano asked.

"My old base of operations." Mori headed further in, heading for the living room.

Yosano swept her gaze around the room. The wooden panels were weathered from age, but sturdy. The decor and furniture was sparse yet well chosen. "What'd you use this place for?"

Mori ran his hand down the side of the worn, living room couch. He pulled it away, finding his hand covered in dust. "Treating criminals for some extra cash. Before I joined the military, I was a doctor, never joined any official practice but had lots of experience and my license." He turned around. "Over the next few days, we'll be cleaning the place up."

Yosano's eyes narrowed. "And?"

"You'll be starting your education here. I know you struggle with most kanji, so we'll start there."

"I don't struggle," Yosano insisted.

"Right," Mori easily agreed. So easily it was obvious he was only playing along.

"Hey!"

In the next few days, they heard that the Great War was at an end. The governments of the world were entering negotiations.

XXX

"Why take me with you?"

"Why run?"

Yosano asked those two questions often.

"Yamashita was going to take over the project the next day. He has too much power and interest not to," Mori replied. It was all he would say on the matter.

Yosano would keep interrogating the doctor until she had the full answer.

XXX

Mori sat down at the cafe in the outside section where no one else was willing to sit in the chilly wind. He was here to see someone.

"You're back," the gentleman noted calmly, although not without warmth. He sat down across from Mori. His hair was odd, seemingly dyed three different colors as no one would assume it was natural.

"Yes, I am, Natsume-sensei," Mori affirmed.

Natsume settled his cup and saucer down on the table. He had brought them from the inside section for the cafe. "For good?"

"Possibly."

Natsume smiled. "I heard of the government search, and the change in name that they don't know about. . . . It also caught my interest that they weren't looking for just you."

Mori didn't ask how Natsume got such information. "I defected along with a young ability user," he admitted. He waited for Natsume's judgment.

Curiosity entered Natsume's voice. "Any particular reason why?" He sipped his tea.

Mori related his reasoning in a clear, calculating voice. "She was a part of a project I headed. I. . . did not like the man that was going to usurp my position."

"Not like, or distrust?" Natsume questioned. The line of his mouth straightened into a neutral expression.

Mori's eyes crinkled as he smiled. "He has no love lost for ability users."

Natsume nodded. "I see."

XXX

A Few Months Later

Mori was washing the leftover blood off his arms. He stared as the water merged with the streams of red, turning them a light pink. He definitely needed to sanitize this sink before he did the dishes.

"Why are there so many patients now?" Yosano asked.

Mori clenched the metal sink, keeping himself from flinching. "Turf wars, pretty common for them to break out every few months," he simply replied. He turned around and his eyes narrowed. "Haven't I told you not to go downstairs while we have clients, Yosano-chan?" There were multiple reasons for that rule, from the disturbing noises to the dangerous nature of the clients.

"It's fine," Yosano brushed off. But at Mori's stern look, she wilted. "Alright, I'll go back upstairs."

XXX

Natsume noted how exhausted Mori looked. His student was having to fend off attacks on his turf while treating several dozen clients. Mori's popularity among criminals was biting him now with the almost constant turf wars, due to the Port Mafia's hold slowly becoming less stable. Natsume sipped at his tea, thinking.

Mori narrowed his eyes, wondering at the silence of his teacher.

Natsume abruptly suggested, "I know someone you could hire as a bodyguard."

"Who?"

"Yukichi Fukuzawa." A hint of a smile slipped onto Natsume's face.

Mori raised his eyebrows. "The Silver Wolf?" He would be an idiot if he didn't recognize the name.

"He is also one of my students," Natsume revealed. "I can point him in your direction, if you would like?"

XXX

Three Weeks Later

A blood transfer and IV were hooked up, flowing into the crook of the man's elbow. He had been knocked out with anesthesia.

Mori was up to his elbows in red; his latex gloves had already succumbed and started slowly filling with blood. Clamps kept the gaping wound in the man's stomach open. Mori was carefully shifting organs around, searching for the shrapnel. He ignored the gun held to the back of his head.

A blade flashed, slicing through the man holding the gun. The gun was caught before it could hit the ground. The killer wasn't risking the possibility of a misfire.

"Thank you, Fukuzawa-san," Mori chirped. He pulled on a new pair of gloves and continued meticulously searching. He used a pair of sanitized tweezers to pick out two pieces of shrapnel and placed them into a small bowl.

Fukuzawa's eyebrow twitched. He didn't like when Mori acted so cheery. The thanks was sincere, but his instincts told him that the rest of the emotion Mori displayed was fake.

Mori smiled. "Mind helping me?" He wiped the blood that was welling up from the wound.

"To do what?" Fukuzawa cleaned his sword off on the clothes of the man he had just killed.

"Put on a pair of gloves." Mori used his eyes to point to the box of latex gloves on a table nearby.

Fukuzawa sheathed his sword and put on the gloves. "What happened to your patient?"

"This man was close to a shrapnel bomb," Mori informed. He pulled a hand out to point to where he wanted Fukuzawa to hold the wound open. "Some fragments hit him in the stomach, slicing through his skin like paper. He is lucky they didn't nick anything major, like his aorta."

"And if they had?" Fukuzawa asked, morbidly curious.

"I wouldn't have a patient," Mori related matter-of-factly. "He would have been dead before he even got to me."

XXX

Mori sat at the kitchen counter. He was reading. His phone was in his pocket, volume turned down. He kept his ears tuned for knocking at the front door or someone sneaking around the back.

Yosano walked into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes.

"Aren't you supposed to be asleep?" Mori half-heartedly questioned.

Yosano froze. She lifted her eyes to meet Mori's. She looked haunted. Her eyes were dark, and traces of fear were still on her face. She sniffled.

'Yosano-chan had a nightmare,' Mori deduced, putting down his book. He stood up and grabbed a handful of tissues for Yosano, handing them over with a sympathetic look.

Yosano accepted them. In a small voice she asked, "Why?" She almost choked on the word.

It wasn't a new question. Mori didn't need to ask what this was about. He stared down at the child.

Mori sighed. His voice was quiet as he explained, "I was the one who picked up off the streets. I was your commanding officer. I was responsible for what happened to you."

Yosano stayed silent, digesting his answer. She squeezed him in a hug, only able to reach his legs because of her height.

Mori stood like a stone statue, comically frozen and unaware of how to reply to the gesture. He knew that Yosano had refused to touch anyone unless she was healing them. He was similar, only touching his people as he cut, cleaned, and stitched the wounds of his patients. Unsure, he settled a hand on Yosano's head.

XXX

A Few Months Later

"I'm the guardian for a child, now. He is. . . " Fukuzawa struggled for the right words, ". . . smart. A genius. He can solve crimes after one look at the scene."

Mori had heard of the parents. They were famous detectives, it made sense their kid was too. The kid's career path was cemented ever since he was born into the Ranpo family, honestly.

"Trouble is. . ."

"What?" Mori asked, intrigued.

"I lied to him. And now I don't know what to do," Fukuzawa confessed.

Mori blinked in confusion. The ever honest bodyguard. . . lying? He was an expert at catching lies. If Fukuzawa lied around him he would have known immediately, but Fukuzawa never had. Now, Mori was really curious. "What was it about?"

Fukuzawa's face twitched. "I may have told him he had an ability instead of saying he was a genius."

"That is a problem," Mori sympathized. He pulled a metal container off the kitchen counter. The inside was covered in a layer of waxed paper.

"No advice?" Fukuzawa grumpily replied.

Mori smirked at his friend. "Tell the truth?"

Fukuzawa sighed.

Mori put the container of Yosano's cookies on the kitchen counter. They were mishaped blobs. On the top of each was a criss-cross mark made with a fork. "You should introduce him to Yosano-chan sometime," he suggested.

"Yosano-chan?"

"Have you two really not met?" Mori shrugged dismissively. "Must have slipped my mind. Yosano-chan, come down!" He called, moving towards the door to the kitchen.

"What is it?" Yosano skidded to stop in front of Mori, a medical textbook in hand.

'She has black hair and purple eyes like Mori,' Fukuzawa noted. 'Maybe the doctor's relatives are visiting?'

Mori smiled, placing a hand cautiously on top of the girl's head. "Yosano-chan, this is the bodyguard I've told you about. Fukuzawa-dono, this is Yosano-chan, I'm her guardian."

Fukuzawa choked on his cookie. "Daughter?" The thought of his friend fathering children was honestly horrifying.

XXX

The coffee was good, but that was about all Mori could say for this meeting. Well, meeting implied it was voluntary on Mori's part, and this was very much not.

Mori smiled placidly at the Port Mafia Boss. He listened with half an ear, while appearing that he was paying full attention. He would play the part of a meek, subservient doctor as best as possible.

So, what would be a better word for. . .this? Interrogation? No, not exactly. Mori wasn't really being questioned and tortured here. That much was clear.

"My apologies, sir. But I don't quite understand?" Mori asked.

"I hope you aren't this dull when it comes to your field. Otherwise, I will have wasted my time here," the Port Mafia Boss explained. Despite his age, he wasn't experiencing hair loss-his largely grey hair was tied into a long ponytail. "Due to. . . my health, as I had mentioned previously, I have decided to employ a doctor."

'Interview,' Mori decided. A very unwanted interview. "What made you choose me?" His chosen profession and success had once again made him an unfortunately pragmatic choice for those in power. Mori's lips almost twisted bitterly in response to the thought.

"Are you questioning your own qualifications or my informants?" The Boss wondered —his tone was scathing. He was quickly losing his patience.

Mori held up his hands, showing his palms in a gesture of surrender. He sheepishly shrugged. "My apologies, sir. I am an outsider. I am only curious as to why you chose me out of all the doctors in Yokohama."

"You did something some people said was impossible. You created a neutral territory right on our doorstep and kept it up for almost a year now. I was curious to meet you." The Boss smiled slightly. He snuffed his cigarette out on the yew table, leaving a dark circle on the finish.

Mori's eyes were drawn to the action. He couldn't help but think that the mark on the wood looked far too similar to some of the burn wounds he had seen on a client from the Port Mafia.

"Either way, the Port Mafia will be absorbing your place." That was meant as: join us or die.

Mori raised his eyes from the table, sweeping his gaze over the figure of the feared Boss. The older man was gaunt, as seen by how his cheekbones were so prominent. The bags under his were so dark they seemed permanent. Of course, the threat wasn't the Boss's physical capabilities, but the organization he led. And the two men standing nearby with guns, it was hard to forget about them.

Mori's plastered-on smile stretched to make it seem as if he was nervous. He was really irritated, yet his expression gave no hint to his true feelings. "I would be pleased to become your personal doctor, sir."

XXX

Mori decided the only option he had at the moment was lament to Fukuzawa, misery loved company after all. "And that's how I was forcibly pressed into working for the Port Mafia the other day." He sighed. He cast a mournful look out the kitchen window. In five minutes, he had lost his turf and most of the control he had over his life.

Mori straightened up and looked apologetically at his friend. "Ah. . . yes, because of that I won't be needing a bodyguard anymore."

"Unless it's to guard from the Port Mafia itself, of course," Fukuzawa wryly pointed out.

Mori laughed. He hummed suspiciously at the good natured state of his friend. "I have to ask, what have you been up to?"

"I'm planning on opening a detective agency. I'm about to get the Gifted Business Permit," Fukuzawa revealed.

This move was undoubtedly due to Fukuzawa becoming Ranpo's guardian. It was to protect the boy, and perhaps to help other Gifted along with Ranpo. Mori kept these psychological predictions to himself. "Really? Congratulations."

"And I recently enrolled Ranpo in a middle school." Fukuzawa glanced towards the entrance of the kitchen. He carefully asked, "Mori-sensei, have you considered whether Yosano-chan will attend school?"

"I have. She likely will," Mori replied. It was difficult, but not impossible. There were some schools that wouldn't dig too deep into their student's past. Yokohama was a gangster's paradise after all.

XXX

The heat drove the customers to stay inside the cafe. All except Ougai Mori and Soseki Natsume. They bore the uncomfortable heat without complaint, having a private meeting was far more important.

"You are in the perfect position." Natsume carefully watched his student's face.

"Yes," Mori pleasantly agreed. He picked his cup of coffee up. "But I will not."

Natsume recognized the look in Mori's eyes: pure defiance, the type that could push a man to burn down his own house if necessary. "Very well." He set his cup of tea down, nibbling instead on the Turkish delights he had purchased from the cafe.

"I can find you another candidate, however," Mori offered.

"That would be appreciated." Natsume looked at Mori. "Once the Tripartite strategy is in place, what part would you be willing to take in it?"

Mori stayed in a thoughtful silence for a minute. "I am ex-military, currently affiliated with the Port Mafia, and soon will be an independent force again. I have my own contacts in all three. . ."

Natsume nodded, gesturing for his student to go on.

"This position means I am most suited to be a stabilizer, a bridge between the three organizations if things get serious." Mori smiled wryly. "We wouldn't want to interrupt your retirement because of some Yokohama in-fighting, after all."

Natsume snorted. "That would be much appreciated." He would be coming back if there was something major however, no matter his age. To have more eyes keeping watch over Yokohama would always be appreciated however.

XXX

The walk to the park from Mori's house was short.

Mori settled down on the wooden bench. He had brought a small book to pass the time.

Fukuzawa arrived soon after. He preferred to meditate.

Aside from them and their respective children, the playground was empty.

Yosano and Ranpo got along well, practically friends on sight. They settled things by arguing with each other about the merits and demerits, mostly silly things like whether green was better than blue.

Mori gazed up at the sky with a frown. The clouds were grey and low, close to raining. He also caught the unique scent that heralded a storm.

His observations proved true.

A fat raindrop landed on the pages of his book. Mori sighed. He stood up. The rain quickly increased. He felt his hand being grabbed by a smaller hand.

"Do you want to be soaked? We need to go," Yosano insisted. She tugged on her guardian's hand.

Mori was getting dragged along by Yosano. Fukuzawa was in a similar situation, but in the opposite position, his hand around the stubborn Ranpo's collar. The two friends met each other's gaze with some sort of mutual pity that made their lips twitch upwards.

Despite the valiant efforts of two of the four, they all got drenched.

A/N

The suffix -sensei has multiple meanings. Fukuzawa saying Mori-sensei means he is saying Doctor Mori, not Teacher Mori.

Mori is figuring out how to be a dad, slowly but surely.

Port Mafia Boss: that's how the mafia works

Also, seriously, I don't even know this guy's name. I'm basing his character off of like three lines. This poor guy has severe screen time issues.

This chapter is 50% Fukumori brotp and I'm fine with that.

Chapters:

1-Mori

2-Yosano

3-Fukuzawa

Next: 4-?

-Silver


	4. The Setting Sun

Summary: Ougai Mori—Yokohama's most infamous underground doctor—is a formidable genius with a reputation on the same level as the Port Mafia's. His clientele and contacts range from the aforementioned Port Mafia to the Japanese government's Special Abilities Department. Ougai Mori's least known trait is his proclivity to somewhat accidentally adopt children with special abilities. Dad!Mori.

The Setting Sun

—Osamu Dazai

Warnings: an attempted suicide is described.

Mori watched the rise and fall of the sleeping Port Mafia Boss's chest. It was an odd thing, to see a man like that sleep.

One might expect a mafia boss and prolific murderer to experience constant nightmares, either out of psychological knowledge or a sense of justice. Mori had no such expectations. It was odd for him to see such a powerful man sleep because sleep was a reminder that even the most dangerous had weakness. Even the most clever could be caught unaware. Even the most powerful could be dethroned.

Mori stood up. He slipped his medical bag onto his arm and exited into the office.

The Boss's bedroom connected to the office. Considering the large amount of hours required, having a place to sleep nearby made sense. Plus, the Port Mafia Headquarters was a modern fortress. If the Boss was safe anywhere. . . it would be here.

The knocks on the large double doors of the Port Mafia Boss's office were muted, but Mori still heard them. They lacked the crisp sound of someone using their knuckles. They were made with the back of someone's hand. It was a polite type of knock, three short, quiet bursts.

Mori pushed one of the heavy, oak doors open. "My apologies, but the Boss is resting." It wasn't unusual for such visits to happen early in the morning, the Port Mafia never stopped working.

The person knocking was a young woman, her age somewhere in her late teens. She wore a pink kimono and her red hair was braided. "Who are you?"

"Ougai Mori, a doctor. And you?" He placed her as an ability user, and with consideration for her kimono and hair color, correctly predicted the young woman was the one with the ability Golden Demon.

"Kouyou," she courtly replied. She swept her eyes over the man and accepted the answer. The white coat, lazy smile, and slightly stubbled chin, fit well with the image of the doctor she had heard about.

Mori noticed the papers in her hand. He gave a close eyed smile. "I can put your report on the desk for you if you'd like, Kouyou-kun."

Kouyou eyes narrowed at the sudden familiarity. She brushed it aside-the offer was more important. "That would be appreciated."

XXX

Mori had a bag of groceries in hand.

The pathway-made of loose pebbles-crunched and shifted beneath his feet. It stayed a meter or so away from the river, so the path was dry unless it rained.

He spotted the bridge in the distance. Once he got there, he needed to take a right to get back to the house.

Spanning the river was a stone bridge. It was an old thing, partially covered in moss. Despite its covering and the cracks, the structure still somehow managed to look mighty and noble. It was a piece of the old times that had held on, scarred as it was.

As Mori drew closer, he noticed the child on the bridge. Not on it—as in on the regular walking part—but on the wide railing made of flat, rectangular stones.

The boy's brown hair was perfectly combed. His clothes fit him well and were on the expensive side. He merely stood there, on top of the wall, staring down at the water.

The thought crossed Mori's mind that the boy might accidentally fall in.

The boy did fall. But it was not by accident. The boy seemed to laugh as he stepped forward off the bridge.

Mori cursed. His grocery bag dropped onto the pebbles. He had to move, fast. The current was going in the other direction. He sprinted down the path. Pebbles flew out from underneath his feet.

He got in front of the child-the location evidenced by the brown hair bobbing up occasionally-and waded in. Mud sucked at his shoes, trying to pull them off. Water slipped into his socks.

The water was shallow enough that it came up to his chest and no further.

The boy drifted towards Mori; his eyes were shut; a dreamy smile was on his lips. He was still as a corpse, only moved by the current propelling him along.

Mori hoisted the child up from the armpits-the boy was complete deadweight, but fortunately only about eighty pounds soaking wet. A few steps got the doctor to the river bank.

Mori laid the child on the bank and checked for breathing-there was none. He only had to pump the boy's stomach for a few seconds.

The boy spat out two mouthfuls of water, groaning.

Mori rolled the boy onto his side. Still crouched on the muddy bank, he looked to see if there was perhaps a parent—or anyone really—nearby who would hopefully be the child's family.

Mori sighed. He was out of luck-there was no one else.

Well, whenever the kid woke up, he should be able to tell him where he lived.

Mori almost reconsidered at the thought of how hard it would be to explain to the parents that their boy tried to drown himself. But the boy needed to be watched for secondary drowning and if he stayed in those clothes he might get sick. Plus, saving the boy and leaving would be a bit suspicious.

Resigned, Mori summoned Elise.

Elise tried to pick up the boy.

The boy's eyes snapped open and he grabbed Elise's wrist.

Elise vanished.

The boy hadn't been expecting it either. He quickly snuffed out his expression of surprise and interest.

Mori recognized the sharp intelligence that hid in those cold, apathetic cinnamon eyes. "Do you have anywhere to go?"

"No," the boy said.

It was a lie. He had somewhere he could go. . . he just didn't want to.

Mori stood up, his shoes squelching as he did so. Elise reappeared, quickly leaving to go get the groceries Mori had abandoned. "Then you can come with me if you want."

The boy's stomach growled loudly.

Mori huffed a laugh. "I promise there will be food."

XXX

"Name?" Mori asked. He put the bag of groceries on a counter. He waited a minute, giving the boy a chance to respond. "Me first?" He smiled. "Ougai Mori, a doctor."

"Osamu Dazai."

"Alright, Dazai-kun. You can stay here as long as you want." Mori waved his hand and Elise disappeared.

"Can I leave anytime I want?"

"Of course. Go out the door anytime you like," Mori casually reassured. He hummed, checking his watch-he tapped the face a few times, water had gotten into it when he picked Dazai up. He checked the clock on the hallway wall outside the kitchen. "Yosano-chan should be back soon. I should get dinner started."

Dazai floundered for a few minutes, silent. He did not understand what was going on at all. "Don't you have any more questions?" Like. . . anything about why he was trying to drown himself? Or not having a place to go back to, even though he was pretty sure Mori knew he was lying and just hadn't called him out.

"Yes," Mori answered simply. He turned around, putting a hand on the kitchen counter behind him. "Do you want to answer them?"

Mori saw the despair in the way the boy held himself; the dead look as the boy replied, "No."

"Then I won't bother asking."

XXX

The Next Morning

Yosano waited until she got her new friend into a good mood before asking, "What's the name of your ability? Mine is Thou Shalt Not Die." Her smile didn't falter as she explained, "I can heal injuries."

"No Longer Human. I can cancel other abilities out." Dazai moved on before the meaning could settle in Yosano's mind. "Mori-san, what's yours?"

Mori looked up from the bottles of ointment he was sorting through. "Vita Sexualis. Elise is my ability."

Dazai nodded—his suspicion about yesterday was confirmed. Elise being an ability was the only real explanation for her disappearing and reappearing.

XXX

Four Days Later

"I see you've taken to wrapping yourself in bandages." Mori brushed his thumb over Dazai's wrist, where he knew several silver marks lay hidden under the cloth.

"Yes, Mori-san," Dazai carefully replied.

"Why do you hide them?" Mori inquired, his voice neutral. "Do you think they are ugly? Do you think they are shameful?"

Dazai hesitated. "I don't like the look you and Yosano-chan get when you see them." He admitted, part of the truth—the least concerning part of it-to satisfy Mori-san.

Mori kept eye contact for a few seconds. He nodded and let go of Dazai's wrist.

XXX

Mori was sitting on the couch, reading.

Dazai plopped himself on the couch. He stretched himself out, propping his chin on his hands. "How can you find happiness?"

Mori almost choked at the question, but managed to repress the urge. He was not expecting such a philosophical topic to come up. He let his gaze trail over a sentence, listless. "I can't exactly say for sure. There's not really a formula for obtaining happiness."

Dazia pouted. "Any ideas?"

Mori sighed and closed his book. "The materialists and hedonists are wrong, those who believe the material world is all that matters: the poor and the rich can be just as miserable. Financial status does not determine happiness. As for people out solely for pleasure: they find it and it slips out of their grasp so they endlessly chase it without regard for anything and everything else. People out to do good often create the largest amount of problems, as they have good intentions but horribly execute them, they are. . .the most happy, especially if they don't muck things up. Dazai-kun, there are many miserable existences and paths in the world."

Dazai's eyes were thoughtful.

Mori's gaze slid towards Dazai. "But, if you're searching for an answer to life and searching for happiness, then I'm afraid you won't really take any of my answers."

Dazai gave a wry smile.

XXX

Mori kept track of Dazai. The boy had left occasionally. Considering the calculating and careful attitude Dazai had when coming back, Mori suspected it was to test whether Mori had been lying about being able to leave whenever he wanted.

After the first two weeks, Dazai stopped acting suspicious. He never said it, but he had chosen to stay.

XXX

When Mori was away for work, he almost always left Elise at the house to watch Yosano and Dazai.

Mori considered leaving the two alone home dangerous because of two things a) they were children and b) they were ability users that a lot of people would pay millions to get their hands on. The first was good enough for Mori keep an eye on them-both together meant there was no way he wasn't having Elise there.

XXX

Mori hadn't seen Kouyou for a while.

He decided to eavesdrop while in the most popular break room in Headquarters. Sure enough, three guys were talking about it.

They said she was dragged back by her hair, screaming and kicking. They said apparently she had a lover and the two planned to defect. They said the Boss had been personally involved. They said the lover had been killed by Kouyou.

Mori finished his coffee and left the break room. He went into the elevator and selected the Basement level. He watched the numbers tick down and the doors open, then got out.

The Basement level looked normal.

It wasn't.

Mori fumbled around in a darkened corner for a moment. He found the small slit that marked the keyhole. He fished out his key.

He went down several flights of stairs.

'Level B9', the sign on the door said. This was a floor of holding cells. It was usually for attempted traitors.

Mori peeked inside several cells before finding Kouyou. He summoned Elise and slid the door open wide enough to walk in. He locked it behind him, but that was a frivolity. If either of them wanted, they could easily use their abilities to escape.

"What happened?" Mori asked, not unkindly.

Kouyou gritted her teeth and clenched her hands together. She spoke with a quiet rage simmering underneath the matter-of-fact tone she used.

Mori listened intently. The story was rather similar to the gossip.

Kouyou finished.

Mori stood up. "I can relate," he casually said. He smirked. "I don't want to be here either. I was blackmailed and extorted after all. Unfortunately, I should be going now."

Kouyou's eyes went wide. Her surprise distracted her from her anger.

Because that was treason. Blatant treason.

"Wait and build up your reputation again," Mori advised. "Regardless of what you do next, you will have to build that up. And reputations take time. Do not be impatient. Good luck, Kouyou-kun."

XXX

A Year Later

Yosano and Dazai stayed out of the rooms when the patients were there. It was one of Mori's rules.

They were happy to comply. Because even upstairs, they heard things.

Sometimes. . .there were medical complications. It wasn't always safe to knock people out or give them anesthesia.

Tonight, was one of those cases.

Another scream ripped through the house, burrowing into Yosano's and Dazai's ears as they tried to sleep. As the screaming had continued on and off for many minutes, the voice of the man became hoarse.

Dazai had already chosen to sleep with Yosano that night. This was common practice for them at this point.

The amount of patients Mori took on drastically increased last week. The Port Mafia was getting involved in more turf wars. . . unnecessarily.

The screaming finally stopped and the door to Yosano's room opened. Mori peeked in.

He listened to their breathing patterns. The children-he knew Dazai was there too-were sleeping soundly. Mori quietly closed the door.

XXX

Ranpo, Dazai, and Yosano had claimed the couch for themselves. Their eyes were glued to the television.

Mori, sitting in one of the armchairs, was keeping an eye on the murder mystery show. Partly to make sure it wasn't overly bloody and partly to scoff at any inaccuracies.

During the commercial break, Dazai and Ranpo chattered about their deductions. Yosano occasionally offered a thought, but preferred not to talk.

"But what about the sick person?" Ranpo asked.

The three children looked at Mori. He would have the best medical knowledge out of them after all.

Mori raised an eyebrow but answered. "Dazai is right. That's a common misconception about antibiotics. They work on bacteria, not viruses. Considering the symptoms, it is a virus that caused the illness."

Dazai smirked at Ranpo in triumph.

Mori coughed pointedly to draw the children's attention once again. "The question then is whether the writers of the show knew that—many don't. If they did, Dazai's theory is correct. If they did not, Ranpo's may be. Which one is it?" He shrugged. "Sometimes, people are smarter than you give them credit for and sometimes they are much more stupid. When deducing, try to account for both and see where it goes."

XXX

Kouyou was taking a risk. "Will you help me, Mori-sensei?"

"Perhaps." Mori was capable of authenticating the Boss's murder as death from his illness. "I have some conditions."

Kouyou's face grew more guarded at the answer.

"I can do the fake autopsy, but I will not be your witness. I get to leave the Port Mafia. The neutral territory I possessed will be returned to me. I want you to reform the Port Mafia as you have said you wanted to."

Kouyou frowned. "How will I explain your absence?"

Mori waved his hand. "I never really joined the Port Mafia. I'm still an outsider when it comes to general opinion. If I'm not the witness for the Boss's death, there's no need for me to stick around long. I can forge a call from the Boss to give you two a reason to be there. I can also forge a contract and put it in my file. A clause for a certain period of time will work well for our causes."

XXX

Mori opened the door. "Hello, Fukuzawa-dono. Are you in a hurry or would you like some tea?"

"No hurry, Mori-sensei," Fukuzawa assured. He toed off his shoes and placed them neatly at the entrance. "How did it go?" He followed Mori into the kitchen.

"They had fun," Mori assured. His statement was confirmed by the laughter coming from the living room. "Any preference of tea?"

Fukuzawa shook his head and sat down at the island.

Mori poured two cups of hot water. He put in the tea leaves and slid one cup over to Fukuzawa. He hummed thoughtfully. "How would you feel about Yosano-chan and Dazai-kun sleeping over next week?"

Fukuzawa narrowed his eyes, Mori had never suggested something like this before. "Is there a particular reason you want them away for a night?" His tone was slightly chiding.

Mori smiled cheerfully. "I'll be out of the house and I don't want them to be alone."

Fukuzawa knew Mori usually left Elise at the house. If it was something Mori needed Elise for, it was dangerous. It probably had something to do with the Port Mafia, but it wasn't Fukuzawa's place to pry. He was being entrusted with his friend's children, with the knowledge that he would keep Yosano and Dazai safe in case something happened. He nodded and picked his cup of tea back up. "That sounds doable. Could you drop them off or do I need to pick them up?"

XXX

Mori had been ignoring the suspicious looks from Dazai ever since the boy heard about the sleepover.

Eventually, Dazai just came out and asked, "What do you want us out of the way for?"

Mori snorted at the way it was phrased. "I am going to do something very dangerous," he admitted.

"And if you don't do it right?" A hint of emotion entered Dazai's voice.

"I'll probably die," Mori candidly replied.

Dazai furrowed his eyebrows in no small amount of confusion. "I thought you didn't want to die?"

"Sometimes, Dazai-kun, there are things we have to do that that we don't want to."

XXX

The rain drummed on the roof. Thunder could be heard faintly, amidst the steady patter of droplets.

Dazai was on Mori's lap. He was less thin than two years ago but still a twig. His arms were draped around Mori's neck. Yosano's head was leaned against Mori's chest, his arm wrapped loosely around her. Mori resigned himself to going to sleep on the couch and surely waking up with a crick in his neck tomorrow morning.

A/N

Dazai has appeared. He really needs therapy, but that's hard to get when you're a runaway.

Philosophical conversations will also be a thing. Why? Because I love philosophy. And this is Mori and Dazai, there's no way they don't have conversations about philosophy.

Please don't ship any of the kids (or, the adults) here. This is all pure sibling and fatherly—pure familial—relationships, nothing romantic.

Timeline note: Mori is 28, Yosano is 13, and Dazai is 9 by the end of this chapter.

Chapters:

1-Mori

2-Yosano

3-Fukuzawa

4-Dazai

Next: 5-?

-Silver


	5. Never to Return

Summary: Ougai Mori—Yokohama's most infamous underground doctor—is a formidable genius with a reputation on the same level as the Port Mafia's. His clientele and contacts range from the aforementioned Port Mafia to the Japanese government's Special Abilities Department. Ougai Mori's least known trait is his proclivity to somewhat accidentally adopt children with special abilities. Dad!Mori.

Never to Return

—Chuuya Nakahara

Yokohama, Japan

"I heard the Port Mafia Boss died, Mori-sensei," Fukuzawa said.

Mori looked up at the statement. He nodded, gravely replying, "Yes, it was unfortunate. He passed away the other night after naming his successor."

"Two days ago, the night of the sleepover, wasn't it?" Fukuzawa questioned.

Mori smiled.

And that was all the confirmation Fukuzawa needed as to what Mori had been doing that night.

XXX

A Few Weeks Later

"Act human."

Elise relaxed her shoulders. A smile formed on her face. "Yes, Mori-san," she chirped.

Mori frowned. "Stop."

Elise straightened up again. It's smile looked penciled on, instead of genuine.

Mori hesitated before leaning forward and asking, "Are you an it or a her?" A minute passed in silence. Irritation flashed in Mori's eyes. "Answer."

"I am. . .I am whatever you want me to be, Mori-san." Elise's voice lacked all emotion.

Mori snorted. "Not really," he muttered, remembering his attempts to change Elise's core appearance. Although he could change what age Elise looked like, the blond hair and blue eyes were there to stay. "Where did you come from?"

"You."

Mori didn't know what he had been hoping for, but that definitely wasn't it; but he shouldn't have been expecting anything else with Elise being his ability. He sighed and stood up. "Elise, you may keep acting however you like as long as you obey me."

There was no reaction from Elise.

To him, Elise looked wrong whether it was acting human or not. He still didn't know for sure which one was worse.

He would let this go on. And if it ever had ill effects, he would simply forbid Elise from acting human. . . . His mind tacked on, 'voluntarily', but he mercilessly crushed the thought.

XXX

"You've been set up solidly at this point." Mori smiled. "Getting the Colonel to back you was a hard and brilliant idea that you managed to pull off spectacularly."

"Thank you," Kouyou replied quietly. "Would you really not reconsider leaving?"

Mori stared at his cup of tea for a few minutes. His eyes were cloudy, full of responses and reasons for both staying and leaving. He put it down with a decisive clink. "The strength of my testimony laid partially in me being a neutral outsider." He chuckled. "Besides, I doubt you would want me as your doctor." His eyes danced with mirth.

XXX

Mori watched Dazai stand on the bridge's stone railing. He had his hands out of his pockets as a precaution. "If you jump, I'll fish you out again," he idly warned.

"I want to accomplish a cheerful and energetic suicide without bothering anyone," Dazai cheerfully proclaimed. "If there a way to do that?" He took one step forward. His foot was half on sturdy stone and half on thin air.

Mori sighed. He inched his way forward, quietly. "No. Even for some of the worst scum of the earth. . . someone cries. Someone misses them."

Dazai laughed. "Really?" He started walking along the edge. His steps looked reckless and oddly whimsical. They contained the total lack of fear present in some children.

Mori sat on the stone railing. He kept his fingers curled into a fist, as otherwise he would be yanking Dazai off the ledge. His worry did not show in his voice, but his weariness certainly did. "If you can't do it for yourself, and if you can't do it for the hope of tomorrow or the possibility of finding a reason, then live for us."

Dazai stopped again, his shoe half-way to the stone. He set his foot down. He looked at the water below the old bridge. What to do? The water still looked inviting, but he didn't jump. He still hated his reflection and his scars and everything else about himself that felt cheap and faked and empty. But he didn't jump. Instead, he turned and jumped down. His shoes hit the stone with a harsh 'rap'. "Fine. At least for now."

XXX

Two Years Later

Mori looked up from his book to see Dazai and several unknown boys standing in the hallway.

One of the boys had red hair and wore a green hoodie, instead of walking he was carried by another boy.

"What happened?" Yosano asked. She had already jumped up from the couch and over to the boys.

"Chuuya is injured." Dazai said, as if the simple sentence explained everything. His tone was cheerful despite the serious atmosphere around him.

Chuuya was obviously the unconscious redhead, Mori quickly deduced. Mori stood up, unhurried so as to not startle his guests. "You came here to get him some medical attention, Dazai-kun?" He drawled the obvious as he walked over.

Dazai shrugged.

"Are you the doctor?" A boy asked. He was the one carrying Chuuya and the leader of the group.

"Yes, Ougai Mori. And you are?"

"Shirase." The boy didn't give any more information, obviously wary.

But that didn't matter to Mori, he was neutral when it came to gangs and Dazai would tell him everything later anyway. "What's the injury?"

Dazai quickly reported in the medical terminology that had been drilled into him.

Mori nodded. He telegraphed his movements, leaning forward to brush aside the hair on the side of Chuuya's head. The wound was a deep gash, the area around it swollen. "It'll need stitches. He will probably wake up within the next day. He might need another day or two to be safe," he informed.

"How much do we need to pay you?" Shirase asked.

"Nothing." Mori almost smirked at the boy's openly suspicious looks. He smoothly continued on, "In return, consider this my ward's payment for whatever mess he caused." He gestured towards Dazai.

"Fair enough," Shirase decided.

"Dazai-kun, help Shirase-kun carry the boy into the office. Put him on a bed. Yosano-chan, please make some tea for us." Mori shook his head at Yosano's questioning look-the girl shouldn't use her ability.

XXX

Mori sat in a chair in his office. Aside from Chuuya, he had no patients today, though he would likely get some walk-ins later tonight. The distinct lack of patients wasn't easy to tell however, with how Chuuya and Dazai made up for it with their own noise. He studied the two boys.

"But you're still short," Dazai triumphantly replied.

Chuuya gaped for a moment. He quickly beaned Dazai in the face with the pillow from his bed. He grabbed his pillow before Dazai could and wielded it threateningly—or as threateningly as he could while stuck in a bed.

Dazai retreated to the end of the bed, hands held up in front of his face and chest defensively. "It's true."

"Say that one more time, Dazai, I swear-"

Mori recognized the spirit in Chuuya's blue eyes, that will to live. The boy was rough around the edges, but if polished properly, would become a good, dependable leader. Right now, Chuuya lacked self awareness, some smarts (he wasn't dumb of course, just not the best with strategy), and level-headedness. But if Chuuya gained those and retained his good qualities such as loyalty empathy. . . . The potential of the boy was immense.

As for Dazai. . . what Dazai lacked was that fire, the will to live, regardless of difficulties and the general despair and pain of life. Dazai possessed the smarts and level-headed, but had a severe deficiency of loyalty and empathy.

'They make up for what each other lacked,' Mori couldn't help but think. And wasn't that an interesting idea. He would have to see what happened.

XXX

Mori did one final check on Chuuya.

The cut on the boy's head was healing nicely. And if Chuuya's hair was arranged right, it was completely hidden.

"Have you noticed any differences, Chuuya-kun? Are you feeling more irritable, sad, etc.?" Mori asked.

"No, Mori-san."

"Having trouble sleeping or sleeping more than usual? No headaches or nausea?"

"No to both," Chuuya said.

"Good. You're in the clear." Mori put a checkmark under 'N/A' for symptoms. "Now, you'll need to come back in a bit."

Chuuya's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Why?"

Mori smiled cheerfully, the expression a mirror image of Dazai's as Dazai's was of his. He waved a hand towards Chuuya's head. "I'll need to take those stitches out." His tone remained perfectly straight-forward despite the obvious sarcasm intended by the words. "Unless, of course, you wish to have those stitches permanently?"

Chuuya blushed slightly and mumbled, "No, Mori-san."

XXX

"What do you think about moral relativism?" Dazai asked. "I mean there's the whole Is/Ought principle in philosophy. The world is morally neutral, we can not deduce values from nature. And even then, there's no universal standard we can see, right? Everyone disagrees."

Mori raised his eyebrows. "People disagree all the time. Does debate on a topic mean there is no real answer? By no means, both sides are engaged in a pursuit of the truth. If a person says x and another person says y, does that mean neither x nor y are true?" He snorted. "Besides, look at the effects. Subjective view of morality may sound nice, but only results in horrors. Especially on a government level."

Dazai pointed out Mori was not exactly the person to be talking about morality. After all, doctor Mori may be, but the man was an underground doctor, Mori was a criminal.

"Does crime take away the ability to reason?" Mori scoffed. "And no government has ever been wrong?" He smirked. "Do you wish to start with four of the 1900s worst? Stalin, Lenin, Hitler, Mao, or shall we go with examples of current governments?"

Dazai held up his hands in quiet defeat, sulking. He should have known better to challenge Mori with a half-baked idea.

XXX

It became a common occurrence to see Chuuya collapsed on the living room couch, after sometime in the early morning. His visits had started increasing as his trust grew.

Chuuya functioned as the household's natural clock on weekends. Dazai would wake him up, and then Chuuya's shouts would wake everyone else up. Eventually they settled on playing video games in the morning.

XXX

"The Boss might be back."

And wasn't that a terrifying rumor.

Mori only wished it wasn't true. That he wasn't having it confirmed by Kouyou. He gave a world-weary sigh. "I can have this investigated fully for us."

"By who?" For what, Kouyou also meant. Allies they may be, but things were not done freely by criminals. No, if not money or people, there were favors being owed or favors being repaid.

"Dazai-kun and the King of Sheep, as long as you release the Sheep members you have on my word."

Kouyou straightened up. "You're sure the King of Sheep won't betray us?"

Mori smiled. "The boy has the most integrity I have ever seen in a person," he assured.

XXX

A Few Days Later

Chuuya still was uncomfortable in office, which was why Mori settled for treating the boys on the couch.

"You're completely sure it was Rando?" Mori asked. He gently smeared antibiotic cream on Dazai's cheek and put a patch over the cut.

"You don't believe us?" Chuuya said. He looked offended at Mori's question, mouth curling down into a scowl.

"He openly admitted it to us," Dazai said. He was frowning slightly. His eyes had dulled to a dark brown.

Mori shook his head at the two. "I'm simply checking. Why? Because I'm the one who has to explain to the Port Mafia Boss about why of one her sub-executives was killed by the two of you."

The two boys expressions turned from miffed to sheepish.

Dazai laughed to calm the nervous flutter in his chest. That would be a bit difficult to explain without putting them all in danger from retaliation by the Port Mafia. His voice dropped as he muttered, "Right. . . ."

XXX

Ranpo immediately headed for the living room, leaving the two adults behind.

"It's been a while since you dropped by," Mori said. "Tea, Fukuzawa-dono?"

"It would be appreciated. I'm rather parched right now." Fukuzawa entered the kitchen after Mori and immediately sat down. He had been on his feet working most of the day.

Mori was unprepared from having to deal with other things. He started boiling water in an old kettle.

Curiosity was a dreadful thing. And it was often revived by rumors. In this case, ones about a mafia boss back from the dead.

"How did you get out of the Port Mafia?" Fukuzawa asked. He had already connected it to the death of the previous Port Mafia Boss, but. . . .

"Do you really want to know?" Mori replied.

"Is it better if I don't?"

"Probably? One less life threatening secret for you to carry around, anyway." Mori shrugged.

There was silence for a few minutes.

A whistling noise broke it.

Mori pulled the kettle off the stove.

Sympathy tugged at Fukuzawa's features, softening them. ". . .Do you want to tell me?"

Mori smiled in a wistful, bittersweet manner. "Perhaps, some day." Some day when the secret couldn't bring down his life like the flimsy house of cards it was.

XXX

A Few Days Later

Dazai shuffled his feet. "I. . . capitalized on the mistakes of others?" His arm was wrapped under Chuuya's shoulder, the only thing keeping the bloodied and battered boy upright.

Mori's gaze hardened. "Explain."

"He was betrayed by the Sheep."

"We will talk more about this later, Dazai-kun." Mori's voice was stern. He hauled Chuuya into his arms, careful to avoid the knife sticking out of the boy's side. "Get Yosano-chan, now."

XXX

Chuuya had left to go somewhere, presumably to the slums. He came back with a young woman in a kimono who allowed herself to reluctantly be pulled along.

Mori observed the slash in the red fabric of the woman's clothes, dots of red highlighting the knowledge that whatever weapon it was-something with a blade-had broken skin.

"Ane-san helped me. She got hurt," Chuuya quickly explained.

Mori stood up. He put a hand on Chuuya's shoulder-the reassuring squeeze that followed from him made the boy swallow any further, frantic words. A touch of amusement entered his eyes. "Let's head into my office, Kouyou-kun. I can treat your grievous wounds there."

Kouyou nodded, wondering secretly about how the boy and the doctor were connected. She felt sheepish at the doctor's words. "Thank you, Mori-sensei."

XXX

Chuuya didn't talk about what happened. He just stayed at the house, nursing a bad mood.

He was far more tactile with people than the rest of them.

Yosano was okay with the occasional spontaneous hug from Chuuya, but she preferred being the one to initiate contact.

Dazai was the most fine with physical contact. He also reciprocated in the form of slinging his arm slung over Chuuya's shoulders—he would teasingly use Chuuya's shoulder as an elbow rest and let Chuuya fall asleep on him.

The three children would often sit together, scrunching up next to each other and/or Mori.

Mori kept most of his gestures of affection to patting the children's heads and ruffling their hair. Dazai reacted with fake annoyance, but leaned in all the same. The face Chuuya pulled at his hair being messed up was always funny. Yosano took it as an invite to hug his side, arms still too short too wrap around his middle. His hugs were given when crying and injuries occurred, awkwardness washed away by his concern. Piggy backs happened when they were out in public, Mori had three children to keep track of and only had two hands.

XXX

Yosano grinned. "Begin."

Dazai and Chuuya tore open the Snickers bars in their hands and stuffed them in their mouths. They continued to grab more small chocolates and unwrap them, viciously chewing and swallowing the chocolate already in their mouths. They finished the bag of candy shortly and Yosano counted the two piles of wrappers.

"Dazai wins," Yosano announced.

Dazai cheered.

Chuuya groaned, resting his head on the table. He was not looking forward to tomorrow.

XXX

Mori walked into the living room. "How are you doing Chuuya-kun?" He idly asked.

"I'm doing fine."

And that would have been a normal response, if Chuuya hadn't been singing it.

Mori stared. An odd expression settled on his face, his mouth opening slightly of its own accord.

Chuuya blushed, pale face growing a distinct red at the reaction. "Sorry," he sang.

Mori shook his head and continued on his way to the kitchen. Knowing wasn't worth it, especially this early in the morning.

XXX

It was the usual slow evening at the house. As Mori had no clients, he was on the living room couch, reading. And as always, Yosano, Chuuya, and Dazai took that as an invitation to squish themselves on the couch and chatter among themselves. Occasionally Mori would interject a question or answer as needed, but largely stuck to reading.

Rain started to patter on the tiled roof. It grew in intensity, the plink of droplets turning to the loud slapping sounds of a downpour.

Mori looked up. An unrestrained frown slipped onto his face, darkening as the storm went on. He closed his eyes momentarily then went back to reading.

His eyelids started to drop from his exhaustion. The sentence he was on blurred into an ineligible line of kanji.

Mori considered if it was time to actually go to bed and put Dazai and Yosano in their own rooms. He looked at Chuuya, Dazai, and Yosano. He came to the unfortunate conclusion that he would be unable to get up without waking the children. All three of them were attached to the man in various ways: Yosano had wrapped her arms around his right elbow; the top of his left shoulder had been claimed by Dazai as a pillow; his right wrist had Chuuya's hand wrapped around it.

Lightning cracked nearby, throwing a flash of light into the room through the window. Three seconds later, thunder followed, booming through the house-Mori could feel the sound vibrating harshly in his chest.

Mori looked up at the ceiling then down to the children around him-they were all still sleeping soundly. He sighed and closed his book.

A/N

Chuuya, my favorite, has arrived.

The Colonel was a Port Mafia Executive and an ability user. He was mentioned as having died in the Dragon Head Rush.

The symptoms Mori was asking Chuuya about are those linked to concussions. Since Chuuya had head trauma, checking for things like concussions is a good idea.

I'd like it to be noted that depression and grief can come and go. And that character development can be progression or regression. Mori is going to be dealing with both his own (and some of his wards's) problems throughout the story.

Timeline note: Mori is 30, Yosano is 15, and Dazai/Chuuya are 11.

Chapters:

1-Mori

2-Yosano

3-Fukuzawa

4-Dazai

5-Chuuya

Next: 6-?

-Silver


	6. O-Gin

Summary: Ougai Mori—Yokohama's most infamous underground doctor—is a formidable genius with a reputation on the same level as the Port Mafia's. His clientele and contacts range from the aforementioned Port Mafia to the Japanese government's Special Abilities Department. Ougai Mori's least known trait is his proclivity to somewhat accidentally adopt children with special abilities. Dad!Mori.

O-Gin

—Ryuunosuke Akutagawa

Yokohama, Japan

Tonight, dinner was stir fried rice with peas and steak. It was Mori's own twist on the dish, with cilantro and canola oil.

"Dazai-kun, Chuuya-kun," Mori waited for them to look at him, "You two are going to attend school alongside Yosano-chan starting next semester." He watched the eyes of the two boys widen. "I will forge papers for you to go, that won't be a problem," he explained further as he further divided his piece of steak. "I want you two to get at least a high school education."

Chuuya and Dazai opened their mouths to argue.

Mori cast the two boys a stern look. "If you plan to stay in this house, this is not negotiable."

Dazai closed his mouth with an audible click.

Chuuya traced the lines of the old wood that made up the kitchen table. The surface was smooth and lacked any splinters or things for his gloves to catch on.

Something unknown slipped into Mori's voice. "Chuuya-kun?"

The table lapsed into silence after the question, waiting for Chuuya's response.

"Am I really welcome here?" Chuuya asked. "I got your ward involved in a gang war. You helped me free my old friends." He fiddled with his chopsticks. "I've been free-loading this whole time."

"There is a place for you in this house if you want that," Mori paused before continuing, "If you want, it can be your home." He had already thought it was, honestly.

"Thank you, Mori-san. . ." Chuuya whispered. He kept his voice low, as if he was afraid that being loud would change Mori's mind.

XXX

Kouyou walked down the street. Her sandals quietly slapped against the old, broken down concrete. She spotted the house with white paneling; a small smile slipping onto her face without her noticing. She managed to enter the yard of the house before she was noticed.

"Ane-san, you're back!" Chuuya exclaimed. His eyes lit up with excitement at the surprise.

Kouyou clicked her tongue. Her voice grew miffed. "Ane-san? I'm not that much older than you."

"But you're like our older sister," Dazai chirped, "So you're Ane-san."

Chuuya nodded in agreement.

Yosano opened the door of the house. She smiled upon seeing their visitor. "Ane-san, how are you doing?"

Kouyou sighed.

XXX

One Year Later

Chuuya and Dazai ran errands for Mori when needed. As they were teenage boys with oft destructive tendencies, getting outside was good for them. Mori kept an eye on the two by estimating their route times and not being shy about making sure they checked in if they were running late.

Most of the errands involved putting medicine or envelopes at drop off locations that ranged from mail slots to hollowed out bricks. Chuuya and Dazai also picked up envelopes. They never peaked inside for fear of Mori finding out after explicitly telling them not to. Dazai theorized that some were filled with a stack of money and some contained letters with unknown messages on them.

This was an urgent delivery to an ailing client which was why they were up so early in the morning on the weekend. The location of the dead drop was in the slums, behind a rundown laundromat.

Dazai held up a hand to his mouth as he yawned. He trailed behind Chuuya, who was a few steps ahead of him.

They entered the alleyway.

A mass of red and black moved towards them. It was shaped vaguely like the head of a snarling beast.

Chuuya flipped backwards and Dazai skipped to the side.

The ability tore a hole into the damp stones before reappearing at the end of the alleyway.

Dazai took the lead as it was an ability with unknown capabilities except swallowing things. Kouyou's Golden Demon was not affected by gravity. . .it was possible this one wasn't as well. This knowledge was what made Chuuya hand over the frontline without protest.

Instead of focusing on the ability, Dazai focused on the user.

The ability belonged to one of the two children. They were grimy, with dead eyes and black hair. Both were likely orphans since they were in that condition.

Dazai traced the tail of the ability back to the boy's coat. The ability leapt for his throat as he appeared lost in thought. Dazai's No Longer Human activated upon contact, dissolving the red beast.

The boy glared viciously at Dazai. The girl, on the other hand, was clearly shocked.

"Do you want to try that again, or. . .?" Dazai provoked.

"Dazai, shut up," Chuuya interrupted before the two younger children could respond.

The two slum dwellers stiffened, having forgotten about Chuuya being there. The boy was injured. It was a head wound-not that deep, but bleeding over his face in unquenched rivulets. The girl was holding a rusty butter knife. It had been stolen from an antique set of silverware when the shopkeeper hadn't been looking.

"You're injured, right? We can patch you up," Chuuya offered.

"Why?" The boy's voice was harsh and gravelly, probably from screaming.

"Ability user solidarity?" Dazai joked.

"Ignore him." Chuuya slugged his brother in the arm and ignored the hiss of pain that followed. "See, we were a bit like you two not long time ago. I used to live three streets over, actually."

The two younger children held eye-contact with Chuuya and Dazai for a long minute. The boy nodded, hesitantly, and the matter was settled.

XXX

Mori rubbed the bridge of his nose. He had not been able to catch any sleep after helping a client early that morning.

He heard the many feet patter into the kitchen behind him. He cast a gaze behind him and checked off his mental list that Dazai and Chuuya had come back home after the errand that morning.

Chairs were pulled out from the kitchen table and island-the wooden legs scraped against the tiled floor.

Mori didn't realize he had five children in the kitchen until he had pulled out two cartons of eggs-one of them was half empty. He wouldn't need an extra five eggs if not for the two new mouths that he had subconsciously calculated for. He kept facing the stove and casually asked, "So, who are you? And by that I mean the newcomers."

Chuuya and Dazai exchange a look behind Mori's back.

Mori dropped an omelets worth of eggs into the pan. It bubbled and popped as it settled down to cook, becoming the only sound in the kitchen.

"We'll leave," Ryuunosuke Akutagawa, the boy from the slums, said. He had been washed up and given new clothes, as had his sister, Gin.

Mori tilted his head to the side. He still wasn't looking at them. "You can stay," he softly suggested. He had to handle this carefully or they would run off.

The Akutagawas stiffened. Gin tightened her grip on the silverware in her hand. Ryuunosuke steadied his suddenly hurried breathing, trying to focus in case he needed to use Rashomoun. He didn't notice how Dazai's hand slid closer to his in case he attacked someone.

The omelet cooked slowly, unaffected by the tense atmosphere.

Moro shrugged. "You don't have to, of course. But you're children who would otherwise be on the streets tonight."

Mori had gone to his office to drop off his doctor's bag before heading to the kitchen. He remembered the medical supplies missing from his office. Chuuya and Dazai had looked fine when he had gotten a brief look at them. He pondered the thought as he broke up the omelet and scooped it into a plate. Mori picked up the plate with eggs and pulled two plates from the cabinet. He put them on the table and got a more clear look at the Akutagawas, confirming his suspicions. He walked back to the stove, tossing a comment backwards, "How is your injury?"

"Fine," Ryuunosuke replied. His was mixed, half-hostile and half-wary.

Dazai and Chuuya immediately split the large omelet between them. Both of them liked their eggs with sausages and ham.

"Yosano-chan, mushrooms and sausage?" Mori suggested. Him and Yosano usually split one together as they both liked mushrooms. He cracked a free eggs.

"Yeah," Yosano said. She tacked on a half-muttered, "Please."

Mori nodded and dropped bacon into the bowl of eggs for the next omelet. He poured in the eggs. "Now, where was I?" He muttered, lightly tapping the pair of chopsticks against the edge of the pan. "Ah, yes. About having an ability and living on the streets."

Ryuunosuke glared at Chuuya and Dazai, sure they had sold him out.

"Oh, don't be mad at them. I figured it out myself." Mori waved a hand as to dismiss the idea. He flipped the mushroom and sausage omelet cooking in the skillet. "Anything you two want in an omelet? I do warn that you'll be sharing it."

"Bacon?" Said an unfamiliar, dainty female voice. Gin immediately bite her tongue to keep herself from saying anything more

Mori hummed thoughtfully. "I think we have some." He summoned Elise. His ability walked to the fridge and started looking for the requested ingredient.

The Akutagawa siblings stared at Elise, surprise, uncertainty, and awe mixing together to create a feeling of being rooted to their seats. Ability users were rare. And as rare things often were, lethal and dangerously fascinating. This was the first adult ability user they met on top of that. Who knew what the man could do with a supernatural power and possibly decades to have polished its use.

Elise found the bacon and put it on the counter near Mori. Mori acknowledged that he had seen the action with a nod.

"Back to having an ability, you may think that it gives you an advantage. You aren't wrong. But having an ability comes with its own set of problems. The moment a gang sees you, you'll be pressed into joining them. If you refuse and bloody your hands, you'll attract a lot of unwanted attention." He flipped the omelet again to check if both sides were evenly cooked. Satisfied, he cut a quarter of the omelet for Yosano to have.

Elise got out two plates from the cabinet. She placed one on the island for Mori, as there was little where else he could sit in the kitchen with the Akutagawas taking up the other seats. She put the other plate in front of Yosano. Her eyes crinkled slightly at Yosano's thanks—the brief show of emotion mirrored in the slight twitch of her lips—before she disappeared.

Mori's brows knitted together as he watched them. Elise had shown emotion without any instructions again. He frowned to himself as he cracked eggs for the Akutagawas's omelet.

Ryuunosuke was curious, but definitely not sold on whatever this man was trying to sell him here. A rebellious tone slipped into his words, "And what's so different about being here?"

Dazai interjected, "For one, this place is neutral territory." He almost took a bite of a large piece of egg but Chuuya glared at him. He rolled his eyes at his brother but cut his egg up further regardless.

Ryuunosuke narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Who's?"

Mori nonchalantly replied to the question, as if admitting to something mundane, "Mine."

'Ougai Mori, the underground doctor.' The sentence ran through the Akutagawa siblings's heads-a broken record that kept cycling through the same part-the most important part of this situation. The offer seemed to be: if you're here, no one will force you to join anything.

Ryuunosuke frowned, skeptical. "You won't make us do anything?"

"Nothing bad. There's ground rules for the house because I'd be left without one of not for them." Mori smirked. "Such as, Dazai-kun and Ranpo-kun not being allowed to experiment inside."

Chuuya and Yosano started grinning at the last part.

Dazai stuck out his tongue.

"Okay," Gin agreed.

Everyone looked at her.

Ryuunosuke looked at his sister then nodded, reluctantly.

XXX

That night, Ryuunosuke slept in Chuuya's and Dazai's room.

Gin stayed in Yosano's room.

Yosano was happy to have another girl in the house. It didn't take long for the two to become friends.

Instead of sleeping, they stayed up late. Yosano coerced Elise into letting them braid her hair.

XXX

"When do we have to leave?" Ryuunosuke asked.

Mori closed his book. He looked at the boy and said without reservation, "You don't. You can stay if you want."

They stayed.

XXX

Two Years Later

"Wrong," Dazai sang.

"Bullsh*t," Chuuya snapped back.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the table, Yosano and Gin were talking about something. . . Mori really didn't know what they were talking about. Something to do with whatever K-Pop was?

Mori opted to remain silent and eat. He watched Dazai tease Ryuunosuke, a bit cruelly but not irregular for them.

Dazai enjoyed getting as close to crossing lines with other people as he could. He crossed them in order to find them. It was as much something he enjoyed as it was a precaution.

The effect this had on the other boys was interesting. Ryuunosuke was far too volatile, snarling and glaring at Dazai whenever provoked. Chuuya controlled his anger with the same iron will Dazai exerted over his own emotions. He couldn't mask his emotions, but he controlled them. He definitely understood his emotions better than the other children, with the possible exception of Yosano.

It took another minute before Dazai crossed a line with Akutagawa.

Chuuya elbowed Dazai, hard. He shot a look towards Ryuunosuke, both sympathetic and a command to calm down.

Ryuunosuke growled something under his breath, but otherwise ignored Dazai.

Mori looked at Dazai. Disappointment swam in his violet eyes.

Dazai clicked his tongue and turned his head away.

XXX

Chuuya and Dazai were in the living room. They were on the floor, instead of sitting on the couch like normal people. Why? They just felt like it.

Chuuya was staring up at the ceiling. He was depending in thought, gaze unfocused.

"Thinking about how to teach Gin-chan and Ryuunosuke-kun?" Dazai guessed. It would make sense, since the Akutagawa siblings had wanted to start doing errands tomorrow.

Chuuya smirked. "That was really, really wrong." He took some pleasure in being able to have thrown off Dazai's predictions that much. He rolled over onto his stomach. "Actually, I'm thinking about whether you could use exercise and muscle soreness to measure time in solitary."

Dazai was in confusion for about four minutes. It was the longest he'd ever been silent around Chuuya. He sat up. "It's not practical for people in general or that reliable-each person has their own subjective standard of how much is needed to make their muscles hurt. And, that will change as you exercise over several days. Your fitness will probably increase." Curiosity entered his tone. "How'd you even come up with this?"

"Keeping a routine and keeping busy is what you do if you're stuck in a bare room like that. Exercising is a common tip for when you're stuck in prison."

Dazai raised his eyebrows. "And?"

"And in solitary, losing track of time is one of the worst things." Chuuya shrugged. "But it's going to happen because the body's internal clock gets thrown off by not having the sunlight to tell what time to get up and go to sleep."

"So you combined a tip with a problem in order to try at a solution," Dazai concluded.

"Yeah."

"It's stupid...but kind of ingenious," Dazai begrudgingly admitted.

Chuuya started at his brother in surprise. "I think that's the first time you ever complimented me."

"You took that as a compliment?" Dazai got punched in the shoulder for that comment.

XXX

The government's bid to stop the massive turf war in Yokohama, referred to as Dragon Head Rush failed—Shibusawa had gotten out of control.

Chief Taneda of the Special Abilities Department sat with his head bowed and his hands clasped together.

Both knew Mori could drive whatever bargain he wanted out of this. Chief Taneda had no one else who could help unless he wanted to get other countries involved.

Mori repressed the wish to smile broadly, in order to keep a neutral look on his face. This was a serious matter. "I want to alter the records kept on several individuals, including myself, as I see fit. We can mete out the details later." He extended his hand.

Chief Taneda fiddled with his glasses before reaching out for Mori's hand.

They shook on it.

XXX

The legend of Soukoku, Double Black, started that day. It was said that two people had found the group behind the Dragon Head Rush and crushed them, that they were responsible for the several city blocks that had completely gone missing.

While the rumors spread Chuuya was carried to the house by Dazai; Yosano healed Chuuya with her ability; Chuuya woke only to throw up on the toilet; and Mori held Chuuya's hair back so it wouldn't be covered in vomit and rubbed circles into the boy's back.

XXX

Dazai had to heal the old-fashioned way. Due to his own ability, No Longer Human, Yosano's ability, Thou Shalt Not Die didn't work on him.

"Ughhh," Dazai complained.

"Is the pain really that severe?"

Dazai's act wavered under Mori's inspecting gaze. "Not really," he muttered.

Mori kept a careful eye on the prescriptions in the house. He didn't want any of the children to get addicted or overdose. "No. You can have another in an hour."

Dazai pouted, but didn't waste time protesting.

XXX

Dazai and Chuuya pressed themselves close to a bakery window, almost smashing their faces against the glass.

"You two want anything from there?" Mori asked, contemplative.

"Yes," Dazai and Chuuya replied without missing a beat.

Mori chuckled. "Okay. We can check the bakery out in a minute."

Dazai and Chuuya lingered as much as they could before following Mori down the street. They suggested what they should get to each other, but that discussion quickly devolved into an insult match.

Gin and Yosano were checking out phones at a street vendor. While Yosano had a phone, same as Dazai and Chuuya, the Akutagawa siblings did not. The one Gin liked was dark blue.

Elise kept an eye on them, sometimes being included in the conversation.

Ryuunosuke stood a few feet away, watching his sisters.

"Do you want that?" Mori asked Gin.

The two girls started at the question, having been too absorbed in their own world to notice the man.

Gin blushed. With her pale complexion, blushing turned her entire face a deep red.

Mori took that as a yes. He smiled at the girl then turned his head to the silent spectator nearby. "Ryuunosuke, pick out one."

Ryuunosuke approached the vendor stall in a manner not dissimilar to a wary dog. The recently bought black coat he was wearing fit him well. He picked a red phone with the precision and intensity of someone defusing a bomb.

Mori paid and the group of six walked back towards the bakery.

Dazai challenged Chuuya to a race and immediately took off. Chuuya muttered something—likely along the lines of, "Cheater"—and sprinted after his mischievous brother.

Mori sighed and sent Elise after them.

"Why did you get us phones?" Ryuunosuke asked.

Mori raised an eyebrow at the boy. "If you're in trouble, you can call for help."

Gin and Ryuunosuke shared a look. Gin smiled gently. Ryuunosuke huffed, but his mouth still twitched upwards. They got the message: they didn't have to depend on just themselves anymore.

XXX

It was raining gently. The storm would likely continue for a few hours considering the weather forecast.

Mori had no umbrella but the rain wasn't bothering him. It was the memories that came along with the storm that was the problem.

Mori opened the door to the house. He toed off his shoes and closed the door as quietly as he could. His hair dripped water onto the foyer floor.

It was night time, so Elise and Yosano should have gotten everyone to sleep by now. Mori would check their bedrooms to make sure no one had snuck out. He crept down the hallway.

And it looked like he didn't need to check the bedrooms, as the children were all on the couch.

The scene was honestly rather cute.

Yosano had been reading a book. The book had stayed open and was resigned to staying on her knees. Her head was on the sofa's arm. She had cocooned herself in a yellow quilted blanket covered with purple butterflies. The lamp on the table that she had been using for light still on.

Chuuya was leaned against Yosano's shoulder, his elbow was digging into Dazai's side. The only part of him visible was his face. Half of his blanket—with a sky blue and bright red, dog pattern—had made its way onto Dazai. Dazai had fallen asleep with his head tilted back and mouth open slightly.

Gin's shoulder brushed against with Dazai's. She and Ryuunosuke were smooshed together on the remaining cushion. They shared a dark blue plaid blanket, a good portion of it threatened to touch the floor.

Mori ran a hand through his wet hair, trying to keep himself from getting water onto the living room carpet. He used his other hand to pull the end of the Akutagawa siblings's blanket up, double layering it over their laps. He couldn't help the smile tugging at his lips as he turned off the lamp.

A/N

Timeline note: Mori is 33, Yosano is 17, Chuuya/Dazai are 15, Akutagawa is 13, and Gin is 12 by the end of this chapter.

Chapters:

1-Mori

2-Yosano

3-Fukuzawa

4-Dazai

5-Chuuya

6-Akutagawas

Next: 7-?

-Silver


	7. White Hair Boy

Summary: Ougai Mori—Yokohama's most infamous underground doctor—is a formidable genius with a reputation on the same level as the Port Mafia's. His clientele and contacts range from the aforementioned Port Mafia to the Japanese government's Special Abilities Department. Ougai Mori's least known trait is his proclivity to somewhat accidentally adopt children with special abilities. Dad!Mori.

White Hair Boy

-Q, Yumeno Kyusaku

Yokohama, Japan

Yosano had turned eighteen two weeks ago. She took the time to set everything up. When she had confirmed things fully, she made her announcement. "I'm joining the Armed Detective Agency. I already applied and Fukuzawa-san accepted me. I'm going to quit my job at the restaurant tomorrow."

Mori was not surprised in the slightest, as Yosano had discussed joining the ADA with him a month ago. It was more of a thoughtful and advice oriented talk, as Mori had made it clear that the children were allowed to join any organization they wanted once they were an adult; he would not complain about whether it was the Port Mafia, the Armed Detective Agency, or even the government as long as they knew the risks and what would be required of them.

Mori continued to eat, watching the reactions of the younger children as attentive as Yosano was. Dazai looked interested. Akutagawa was sullen, as per usual. Chuuya had a thoughtful expression on his face, choosing to not say anything. Gin was the only one appearing openly sad.

"I'll still be around. I'm not disappearing. Don't worry," Yosano assured, gaze directed towards her little sister. She gave a small smile and was gratified to see Gin return it.

XXX

"Aughhh," Dazai complained. His throat was itchy and dry. He half-rolled himself off of his bed and stood up. He slowly walked out of the boy's bedroom and into the kitchen. The other boys—Chuuya and Akutagawa—were there, looking just as miserable.

Mori sighed. "You too?"

Dazai gave a plastic smile, all he could manage with such a strong urge to go back to sleep.

"I think it was that Taishi guy at school who got us sick," Chuuya hoarsely said.

Dazai muttered an affirmative.

"Here. Drink this." Mori slid a mug across the top of the kitchen island to Dazai.

Dazai peered into the fragrant cup of tea. The smell was pungent-even just inhaling it soothed his throat. It was Mori's sick tea, made for the special occasion of his wards getting a cold, a cough, or the flu. Dazai sipped carefully out of his mug, as the tea was still very hot, enough to make the outside of the mug uncomfortable to touch. He couldn't help but smile at the familiar taste.

XXX

One Year Later

Mori caved to the many pleading faces around him. "You can play. But stay in the yard. Chuuya-kun, keep an eye on them."

Dazai pouted at not being named as in charge, but followed the other children outside regardless.

XXX

The sun drifted across the sky, leading the day into evening. The trees blocked the sunset from view. The rays were filtered through the leaves on the trees. If one was sprawled out under one of these trees at this time—as Dazai was—one could catch the sight of the leaves almost seeming to glow from the sunlight.

"Dazai."

Dazai looked over to who had called him-it was Chuuya.

"Street," Chuuya said, still keeping his voice low.

Dazai glanced both ways.

Two adults were walking down the street. Something was in the man's arms.

"Do you know them?" Chuuya asked. He sat down on the grass beside Dazai.

"No." Dazai tilted his head at Chuuya. "And they're definitely not the common type of client Mori-san takes."

Chuuya and Dazai were mutually suspicious at first sight of the three. Maybe their instincts were wrong, but maybe they were right.

Gin and Ryuunosuke noticed something was off by how Dazai and Chuuya were talking quietly. Usually the two brothers would be at each other's throat or slinging insults.

The three figures got bigger and bigger, growing from the size of a water bottle to the size of a chair. The thing in the man's arm didn't move, but it had clothes on. Considering the size, it was likely a child.

Dazai and Chuuya got up.

Dazai brushed grass off of his pants. He yawned.

"Gin-chan, Ryuunosuke-kun, go get Mori-san," Chuuya ordered. His voice was unreadable, except that his tone was stern.

The Akutagawa siblings left immediately, Gin not even taking the time to check the page she was on before closing her book. Ryuunosuke opened the door for his sister and the two slipped inside.

"Elise?" Gin asked.

There was no reply.

They checked the other rooms on the first floor.

No sign of Elise.

Ryuunosuke sighed and took confident steps towards the room where they were sure to find Mori. His strides soon grew shorter and shorter, matching the timidity of his sister.

The hallway to the infirmary seemed long and cold. The light coming from the door at the end and the lamp on the table half-way through did nothing.

Ryuunosuke and Gin looked at each other. Gin grasped onto her older brother's sleeve. They walked down the hallway, dreading every creak of the floor.

They had been told to never disturb Mori while the man was working. The warnings hadn't only come from Mori himself, but also their new siblings. There were also the screams that occasionally came from that room. They hadn't missed that Mori—when not covering up the musk with cologne—smelled of blood and some sickly sweet cleaning solution. Mori was a doctor who was constantly treating criminals with what would be considered mortal injuries.

The floor creaked.

The Akutagawa siblings paused.

The sounds inside the room never stopped.

They waited a few seconds.

They vaguely heard Mori say something.

Ryuunosuke remembered the task they had been given by Chuuya and clenched his jaw. He made three knocks on the door, with the back of his hand as he had been told it was more polite.

The door opened, casting a golden light into the hallway.

Mori stood before Gin and Ryuunosuke. His white coat had been taken off for the sake of practicality. A surgery mask covered his mouth and nose. A latex glove was on his right hand, while the left—used to open the door—did not. His body was blocking the view of what was going on in the room. What could be seen of him was cast in dark shadows.

The two children froze in terror. 'We should have gotten Dazai-kun or Chuuya,' they thought. They dreaded what Mori's response would be. They had never broken any of the major rules before and were terrified of the punishment.

"What is it?" Mori asked.

"We're sorry for interrupting, Mori-san. Chuuya told us to get you," Ryuunosuke hurriedly said.

"Why?" Mori's reply was curt, but not unkind. He pulled his mask down. His lips were in a neutral line.

Air rushed into the lungs of the children. They were hopeful, but not relieved. Not yet. They had seen Mori's acting skills.

"There's two adults and a child. They look like a family," Gin reported.

Mori's eyes narrowed at the information—his violet irises grew darker. Just like Chuuya and Dazai, he knew something was off. Criminals came to him to be treated, not regular civilians. "Give me five minutes. I'll send Elise with you. Seat our guests in the kitchen and offer them tea." He gave a small smile. Even though he didn't really have the time. . .it didn't matter; he didn't like the looks on their faces. "Thank you for coming to tell me."

Gin offered a timid smile in return.

Ryuunosuke blinked in confusion. He glanced from Mori to Gin, trying to comprehend what happened.

Elise appeared in the hallway. Her hair was still in a bun from the last time Gin played with it.

Mori made a shooing motion. "Leave me to my work and take care of what I said."

Ryuunosuke's shoulders relaxed.

XXX

Mori entered the kitchen with his back straight and a lazy smile. "Hello," he chirped in the nauseatingly cheerful tone that Dazai loved to copy. "I'm Ougai Mori." He nodded at them in greeting.

"We are the Sugiyamas." The man's smile was strained. He nodded back.

Mori noted that they didn't give their first names, only their last. What were they trying to hide? Or were they just wary of his reputation?

"Your children are so well-behaved, Mori-sensei," Mrs. Sugiyama commented. She had a bundle in her arms, likely her child.

"Why thank you," Mori humbly replied. Truly, he wanted to laugh—this woman had no idea.

At least that was one thing confirmed, they were here because he was a doctor. But why would a normal family hire an underground doctor? That was the core part of this puzzle Mori did not have yet.

"We came here because of Taido," Mrs. Sugiyama said. She looked pained.

Mori chuckled reassuringly. "What happened? Did your son have an accident? It shouldn't be too hard to deal with if it's minor, you needn't worry."

"Yes. Our son, " Mr. Sugiyama looked as if he had to force the word out, "Is very clumsy. He fell off a cliff the other day while we weren't looking."

Mrs. Sugiyama glanced at her husband. "Taido hit his head the worst," she further explained. "He might also have some other problems, a few bruises and scrapes from the rocks and underbrush."

Mori shook his head with a sympathetic look. "Is it alright if I check him over?"

Mrs. Sugiyama handed over the boy without hesitation, almost carelessly. "Be careful of him," she said. Her eyes got dark for a moment, expression briefly filled with venom directed towards her son.

'Keep an eye on them,' the message in Mori's eyes said.

Chuuya and Dazai blinked slowly back, showing that they understood.

Dazai started to engage Mr. Sugiyama in a rambling conversation.

XXX

"Be careful of him."

Mori took note of the odd remark. Either the child was practically the bringer of Armageddon-unlikely, considering the dull, glassy eyed look of Taido-or he had an ability.

Mori set the boy down on an infirmary bed and drew the curtain. The two patients he had at the time were sedated, but he felt it better for the boy not to see them-it would make Taido feel safer. "Take off your shirt and pants."

Taido obeyed. His movements were stiff and he kept flinching. He looked rather odd: he had a star-shaped pupil in one eye. His hair was black and white, seemingly natural.

Mori pulled a pair of latex gloves on. He gave a cursory glance at the other injuries decorating the boy's body. Nothing really serious from what he could see, mostly bruises and small scrapes.

He took care of the head wound. He wiped away the blood trickling down and the already dried blood that had accumulated there. He sanitized the area and put a patch over where the skin had broken.

Mori took a closer look at the other wounds. His hands were gentle, trying to lessen the boy's pain as much as possible.

The Sugiyama had made many mistakes, but they certainly made a wrong one in thinking he wouldn't figure it out. Mori had dealt with many more torture victims than he could remember the names of, but he remembered the different types of wounds they suffered. Once, he had an escapee from arrest who had been beaten by Japanese police to get a confession. It was concerning that he saw the similarity in methods—the wounds were meant to leave no long lasting scars and therefore no evidence. All of Taido's injuries were like this, except for the head wound.

"Taido, how did you get injured?" Mori asked.

The child wrinkled his nose. "Call me Q."

Mori nodded, dropping the line of information for now. 'He's avoiding the question.' He fished a penlight out of his pocket. "I'm going to check for a concussion now, alright Q?"

XXX

Q was being watched by the children.

The office held three chairs and one desk. Mori had the chair behind the desk, as it was his office.

Mori pasted his cheerful smile on.

It was time for Mori to face the reason behind his clients's choice of medical professional. The Sugiyamas had come to Mori for them to patch up their son after things got too far for them to safely deny abuse.

Mori wanted to grab his gun out of his desk and shoot them. He couldn't kill the Sugiyamas. He wanted to and couldn't. Well, Mori could, but he wouldn't despite the immense temptation. His pragmatic side reared its head when his hand twitched towards the scalpel in his sleeve. Killing them would complicate things.

"You're both practical people. It is of no use for you. Instead of paying me for my services, I'll take it off your hands entirely," he proposed. Referring to the child as an object left a foul taste in Mori's mouth, as did everything in this situation, but it was necessary. He steepled his hands together. "So, what do you say?" He leaned forward. His smile curled into something dark.

The Sugiyamas's could not refuse.

"It is a monster. We'll be glad to be rid of it," Mrs. Sugiyama replied. Her expression was full of vitriol, directed at her child.

'The monster I see here isn't him' Mori thought, his eyes crinkling. "Of course."

XXX

Mori and the other children looked at Q. The newest addition was practically swimming in Ryuunosuke's old clothes, but it was the closest size they had. Q was about five, and even smaller than usual for his age.

"We're going shopping tomorrow," Mori decided.

There were no objections.

XXX

The children were in bed.

Mori closed his door. He sagged slightly, putting a hand against the door.

The emotions of the past few hours overwhelmed him.

He wanted to scream. He trembled in rage and helplessness.

Elise appeared, unwanted, but there all the same. She hugged him, trying to comfort him. It was a pale imitation despite physically feeling human.

XXX

The papers were forged. Officially, Taido Sugiyama went mysteriously missing with his "distraught parents looking for him desperately". The name Kyusaku Yumeno was created and slipped in the government databases during an update. Ougai Mori, a local Yokohama doctor with a small practice, quietly adopted Kyusaku.

XXX

A storage room was cleared out to be a play area for Q. He got used to being touched and not hurt. He got used to his belly being full.

Elise, Chuuya, or Dazai watched him most of the time. Of course, the others took turns as well.

Yosano was the one who babysat Q on a dreary, fall morning. She played a game of hide and seek with him. She was always able to find him, as Q couldn't stop himself from giggling.

That day was the first time any of them heard Q laugh.

XXX

Mori was cooking dinner. He was cutting up cilantro to add to the rice.

"Does God exist?" Dazai asked, almost out of nowhere. To his annoyance, despite his sneaking, Mori didn't start in the slightest.

Mori chuckled. "The way I see it: when you have an ability, you don't have the luxury of denying there's a possibility that God exists."

Silence invaded the kitchen once more.

Dazai sat on the stool at the island, staring at his guardian's back. "Hey, Mori-san, what do you think? Is God more cruel for giving us life or taking it away?"

Mori shook his head. "That's assuming God to be cruel in the first place," he pointed out.

"Yes, but looking at the world around us. What would you say?" Dazai insisted.

Mori sighed he turned the heat down lower. He added the onions to the skillet. "If God is looking at us as rats in an experiment, things he created to alleviate his boredom, well, both giving and taking life is rather horrible. But suppose we assume that God is gracious, that living at all is a gift. That he loves us. Then the question becomes, if God loves us, is death cruel?"

"That's not really an answer to my question. You didn't choose one." Dazai pouted.

"I rejected the premise to your question—it is an assumption." Mori stirred the rice. "I countered with my own assumption, supposing the opposite and reframing the question." He added the cilantro, smiling. "So, Dazai-kun, how about this, answer my question and I will answer yours."

Dazai sighed. "Death is beautiful." He cocked his head. "But that's not what you're asking. So it depends on why we experience suffering and what happens to us after, right?"

"Correct. We can hypothesize and argue about various religions. But as dinner is ready, let's save that for another day, shall we?"

XXX

Mori had a book in his hands, but he wasn't reading.

He was watching Q and Elise.

The scene was. . . .

Mori couldn't label the emotion he was feeling. But he could describe it. He felt a rusty, metal nail being driven into his chest. He felt his tongue go numb. He felt a pot of scalding oil poured over his heart, seeping into every crevasse it could find. He felt his muscles lock up, frozen for some unknown reason.

He couldn't interrupt, but he could think.

'Should I order her to never act human? She's too much like-'

The thought—even cut off—was acid, eating through the remains of his ability to cope with watching. It was sickeningly sweet, the sort of taste that made one want to wash out their mouth.

He left.

XXX

Chuuya and Dazai had gotten into a fight at school. It was bound to happen with the temperaments of the two boys. Mori was fortunate that this hadn't happened sooner.

Mori walked into the Principal's office. He glanced at his boys out of the corner of his eye. Neither had any real injuries; however, Chuuya's shirt had been soaked. Mori couldn't help but think, 'They definitely won'. A sort of pride accompanied that thought for some reason.

Mori pasted a cardboard smile onto his face. He bowed to the Principal.

The Principal bowed back.

The two men went through various pleasantries.

Mori was informed that Chuuya and Dazai would be temporarily suspended, as would the other involved. He nodded. He waited a second and then said, "Let me be frank. Was the fight started due to the other students trying to bully my wards?"

"I do not know. I will be addressing the cause with their parents in a few minutes."

Mori's smile tightened.

XXX

Chuuya was hunched in on himself, trying to make himself look smaller.

Dazai's tongue was full of excuses and explanations. He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted.

Mori put a hand on both of their shoulders. "You did well," he simply said. The full lecture and interrogation would come later. For now, they need some comfort, no matter how small.

XXX

A Few Weeks Later

"I'd love a noose-" Dazai was tugged away by a firm hand on his shoulder. "What?" He hissed, twisting around in the person's grip, only to come face to face with Mori.

"You are not allowed to mention anything that could be classified as 'dark' around Q. That includes death and suicide attempts in general. Understood?"

Mori's glare had pinned Dazai to the point until the boy grumbled, "Yes, Mori-san." Dazai stood no chance. Being under Mori glare was similar to the experience of being a small butterfly or moth with its wings skewered and trapped in a glass jar.

XXX

One Year Later

Gin and Ryuunosuke had been on an errand.

Q followed Mori around whenever the doctor was in the house and not working. This was why Q was hiding behind Mori when the doctor answered the door.

Gin and Ryuunosuke were injured. Blood stained Gin's white skirt and Ryuunosuke's white shirt.

They had been attacked while delivering medicine in the city.

Q's grip tightened. "Gin-nee-san?"

Mori's eyes went cold. He would be looking into this.

XXX

Chuuya, Dazai, Yosano, Gin, and Ryuunosuke were in an abandoned apartment complex. They filed down the hallways with peeling paint and cracked alabaster. They were not there for ghost hunting, a bet, or something like that. This was something far more serious.

They stood in the aftermath of a bloodbath that spanned several floors and many rooms. Bodies littered the floor. Blood painted the carpet in shades of red. Bullets had embedded themselves in flesh and plaster.

Of course, not everyone was dead yet, despite the perpetrators's efforts. Some dying thugs tried to kill the teenagers sauntering around the place, despite their own trembling hands and grievous wounds. They shot, only to find their bullets stopped by a red haze of something and something black spearing them through the back. They would gasp or pant or cry, until the black thing removed itself from them and they collapsed on the floor, dead.

The teenagers wandered through the halls as they were uncertain as to where the person they were looking for was exactly. Dazai had been tracking the cellphone, which was how they knew to come here; however, it wasn't precise enough to tell them more than the general location of the owner.

Gin was the first to spot the perpetrators; she tapped on the shoulders of her siblings to get their attention.

Elise's arm were covered in a dripping red, along with part of her face. Her eyes were emotionless. Her hair was pulled back into a high ponytail-some of the strands of her blond hair were noticeably darker than others. She had no smile on her face, only a blank expression.

Chuuya, Dazai, Yosano, Gin, and Ryuunosuke watched as Mori slit the throat of a dying man whose arms had been cut off. Their reactions were not typical for people of their ages at the sight of murder. They did not gasp. They did not throw up. They did not run away.

This changed nothing.

He was family.

They had known what they were walking into. They had known what Mori was capable of, even if he hide it behind misdirecting conversations and a cheerful smile. They did not condemn him for it. They were not paragons of moral virtue—they knew that. It was a truth many wished to never admit they admitted privately to themselves: they were not that different. They were trying, but they were not that good. At the core, people are evil despite their efforts, and what must be done is not always palatable.

They had chosen to stay with Mori. They did not regret it. They understood his position and his logic, even if they did not like the way he went about some things.

Mori turned around. His amethyst eyes were cold and calculating. A scalpel was in his right hand, still bloodied from his most recent killing. His left sleeve had been torn off and wrapped around his forearm. He raked his gaze over them—he received sheepish and guilty smiles in return. He should have expected this.

Dazai moved towards Mori and chirped, "This was the group trying to move in on your territory, the ones who hurt Gin-chan and Ryuunosuke-kun, right?" He had his hands in his pockets. He ignored the scene around him, having already dismissed the sight as uninteresting due several minutes of seeing similarly gruesome things for the past fifteen minutes.

Mori nodded as he used the clothes of the nearest corpse to clean the blood off of his scalpel. He slid his weapon up his surviving sleeve. He did a quick head count and narrowed his eyes at his wards. "Where's Q?" Their answer had better be good.

"With Fukuzawa-san," Yosano replied.

"Good." Mori's lips curled into a wry smirk. "I've taken care of my business here, why don't we leave?" Blood dripped down his pant leg.

"No objections here," Dazai replied, speaking for his siblings.

XXX

Mori patched up the long laceration down his arm. He privately bemoaned to himself that he was slowly getting older. He was certain he could have dodged that knife a year or two ago. He walked into the living room, expecting no one.

Instead, all of the children were there. Worry was present in their thoughts, along with violence and death. The carnage was still far too present in their heads.

Yosano had claimed the armchair, while the Akutagawa siblings took the couch. Chuuya and Dazai were sprawled out on the floor. They kept elbowing each other. Q had chosen to cuddle with Yosano, squishing himself against her side.

"Is there a reason you're still up?" 'Waiting for me', Mori didn't add.

Ryuunosuke shrugged. He chose to stay silent, as he didn't want his words to betray him.

Yosano grinned, sensing an opening in the way a shark smells blood in the ocean. "We want a story," she requested.

Q sat up at the idea of Mori telling a story. He only remembered it happening once before. His eyes were practically full of stars.

"Yeah, and sing it," Dazai tacked on, a conniving glint in his eyes.

"Really?" Mori asked, unsure.

They only managed to persuade him to tell stories once in a blue moon. Seeing that Mori was slowly caving, his wards eagerly nodded or smiled.

Mori sighed, sitting down on the couch beside the Akutagawa siblings. "Have I ever told the story of the Hunchback of Notre Dame?"

Chuuya had the best memory for things like this. He shook his head. "Don't think so."

Mori leaned back into the couch, relaxing his shoulders. His baritone voice reverberated around the room. "Morning in Paris, the city awakes to the bells of Notre Dame. The fisherman fishes, the bakerman bakes to the bells of Notre Dame, to the big bells as loud as the thunder, to the little bells soft as a psalm. And some say the soul of the city's the toll of the bells, the bells of Notre Dame."

Gin leaned her head against Mori's arm.

"Listen, they're beautiful, no?" Mori whispered, his volume dropping. "So many colors of sound, so many changing moods. Because you know, they don't ring all by themselves. Up there, high, high in the dark bell tower lives the mysterious bell ringer. Who is this creature. How did he come to be there? It is a tale, a tale of a man and a monster."

Yosano put down her book. She covered a yawn with her hand.

Q settled back into the armchair, eyes glued to Mori.

Mori's tone strengthened, growing steely. "Judge Claude Frollo longed to purge the world of vice and sin. And he saw corruption everywhere except within."

Dazai and Chuuya stopped elbowing each other.

"And for one time in his life of power and control Frollo felt a twinge of fear for his immortal soul." Mori's voice changed once again, representing the haughty Judge who asked, "What must I do?"

Ryuunosuke curled up into a loose ball.

"Anywhere. Just so he's kept locked away where no one else can see. The bell tower, perhaps. And who knows, our Lord works in mysterious ways. Even this foul creature may yet prove one day to be of use to me," Mori sang.

The last of his wards fell asleep when the first raindrops hit the roof.

Mori softly continued, "Now here is a riddle to guess if you can, sing the bells of Notre Dame. Who is the monster and who is the man?"

A/N

A bit of a longer chapter this time.

Q's penname is Kyusaku Yumeno. His real name was Taido Sugiyama.

Lyrics from the song, The Bells of Notre Dame (The Hunchback of Notre Dame). If you want to hear an amazing rendition of this, go listen to the medley the Ringmasters did on YouTube. Get rid of the spaces in between when searching. www. youtube watch? v= Qo_N9_ZFBhs

Timeline note: Mori is 33, Yosano is 21, Chuuya/Dazai are 17, Akutagawa is 15, Gin is 14, and Q is 8.

Chapters:

1-Mori

2-Yosano

3-Fukuzawa

4-Dazai

5-Chuuya

6-Akutagawa

7-Q

Next: 8-?

-Silver


	8. Six White Venus

Summary: Ougai Mori—Yokohama's most infamous underground doctor—is a formidable genius with a reputation on the same level as the Port Mafia's. His clientele and contacts range from the aforementioned Port Mafia to the Japanese government's Special Abilities Department. Ougai Mori's least known trait is his proclivity to somewhat accidentally adopt children with special abilities. Dad!Mori.

Six White Venus

—Sakunose Oda

Yokohama, Japan

Chuuya walked around the kitchen, ignoring the heavy weight on his leg. He started the morning coffee and took out three mugs—one for himself, one for Mori, and one for Dazai. He craned his neck to look at his leg. "Having fun down there? Enjoying the ride?"

Q was clinging to Chuuya's leg, in a manner similar to a limpet on a rock.

"You're getting so heavy. Have you grown?" Chuuya teased.

Q pouted. "I'm nine! Of course I'm big."

"Yeah. Right."

Q peered up at his big brother with narrowed eyes. He couldn't tell if Chuuya was being sarcastic. "Are you lying?"

Chuuya chuckled. "Me? Never, look at you. You're gigantic."

XXX

"Chuuya!"

There was only one person who shouted his name with such annoying, fake enthusiasm.

Chuuya groaned. He turned around, as it was better to have one's death be from the front than from behind. "What?"

Oda let Dazai dragged him along, while shouting out the name of someone called "Chuuya". He then watched in amusement as the two teenage boys squabbled in the middle of the sidewalk.

"Oh. Right. Odasaku, this is Chuuya," Dazai introduced.

"Oda Sakunose. A pleasure to meet you." He was a tall man with red hair and a short tan coat on, a good idea considering the chilly night breeze that snuck by them. His face was kind, an odd trait to have considering he was employed by the Port Mafia. But, he had taken in five orphans after the Dragon Head Incident and Shibusawa. That made the question less of why he looked kind, and more how he had ended up in the Port Mafia in the first place.

"Chuuya Nakahara. Same to you."

XXX

Ango was a bit plain looking. He could pass for a regular office worker without trying, despite his status as a Port Mafia intelligence member. He wore round spectacles with silver rims. He went drinking with Oda and Dazai regularly to keep an eye on them. It was rare that he did not only order tomato juice.

The three men were walking back from Lupin—their favorite bar—through the misty streets of Yokohama.

Dazai had slung his arms around the shoulders of Oda and Ango. He turned his head towards Ango to remark about something.

There was a crack and a boom. There was a spurt of blood from Ango's shirt. He had been shot.

Dazai let go of Oda and supported Ango.

Oda pulled out his gun. He shoved his friends to the side to help them avoid a gunshot from the mist.

Ango grunted as his wound was jolted by Oda.

Dazai was pressing a wad of bandages to Ango's chest. He didn't remember unraveling them off his arm.

Oda loosed several shots into the darkness.

Dazai used his free hand to pull out his phone.

Hellion number 2: fren shot

Hellion number 2: hlp

Mori: Report

Hellion number 2: shot to chest from several yards away

Hellion number 2: exact caliber unknown, but handgun used

Mori: If you can, bring him to the house, now

XXX

Oda was carrying Ango in his arms. Dazai had borrowed Oda's gun to protect them in case someone tried to attack them again.

Dazai entered the house without announcing himself. He went down the hall and veered to the right, approaching the door at the end of the second hallway with hidden desperation.

The door to the infirmary was open. Mori was waiting for them. Yosano was cleaning several instruments.

"Carry him to that bed." Mori pointed out the place to Oda. He paused a moment, glancing at his ward. "Dazai, go wash your hands."

Dazai stared at his bloodied fingers. He nodded slowly. He pulled his sleeve down to cover the scars on his uncovered arm. He walked out of the room.

Oda found Dazai in the kitchen. He watched his friend wash Ango's blood from his hands.

Dazai's phone buzzed.

"Odasaku, who is it?"

"It says. . .Slug. Slug says: what happened?"

"Chuuya," Dazai simply explained. "Toss me it."

Oda lobbed the phone to Dazai. He didn't notice the audience in the kitchen doorway.

Mackerel: I brought Mori-san a patient

Slug: Who?

Mackerel: a

Mackerel: . . .

Mackerel: friend

Slug: You have friends now?

Slug: That is, friends that aren't Odasaku?

Mackerel: :p

Mackerel: trying to lord your friend count over me, Mr. Popular?

. . .

Mackerel is typing

Slug: No

Slug: I'm happy you're finally starting to get friends

Slug: It's good for you

Dazai looked up to find Oda surrounded by Gin, Ryuunosuke, and Q-he snorted at their looks of awe.

Oda is getting along great with his family and Ango would be fine with Mori and Yosano taking care of that wound. Everything was fine, it's just now his friends would know his family.

Mackerel: yeah

Mackerel: you might be right

Slug: What did you say?

Dazai scowled.

Mackerel: might

XXX

Ango woke up in an unfamiliar place. He felt better than he had in a long time. He never knew thought recovering from a gunshot wound could actually be a good experience. Maybe he really did just need to relax and sleep more, instead of pulling so many all-nighters doing backlogged paperwork.

Ango looked down. There were bandages covering his chest, as expected. He must be on some good painkillers as he didn't feel a twinge of pain from the gunshot wound.

"Lie back down," a voice ordered.

Ango obeyed, before his fuzzy mind could figure out why. He looked to the left, expecting some sort of shady underground doctor. He wasn't wrong, but he hadn't included Ougai Mori onto the options list as Ango had no connection to the doctor.

"Dazai brought you here," Mori explained.

"Why can't I feel the pain?"

"I have you on some strong painkillers. That's why you feel so numb."

Ango narrowed his eyes. For some reason, he felt like that was wrong.

"Head back," Mori ordered. "I'm going to check under your bandages."

There was a stab of pain as something cold and sharp in Mori's hand expertly cut into Ango's chest, dulled though it was. It was not a slash, so much as it was a precise circle of skin being cut away. "So, you're a spy. How's that going for you?"

Ango stiffened. He bit his lip at the pain. "What?" He was feeling incredibly fortunate that the doctor had given him medication beforehand.

"You're a spy for the government."

Why was the doctor gradually deepening a hole, slowly carving out flesh? That was not where Ango had gotten shot. Why was the doctor creating a new hole? Ango paled. He was still wasn't feeling anything from the place where he had gotten shot, even though one of Mori's fingers had brushed against it.

"I'll keep your secret. But here's what I want you to do. Omit everything about me and Dazai, claim Oda was able to keep you alive, and that the bullet hit nothing vital." Mori tapped the end of the scalpel next to the hole he had made. "That bullet hit you here. It did not nick your heart. Understood?"

"I understand, Mori-sensei," Ango quietly rasped. He had little other options. His thoughts strayed to the morbid possibility of what would have happened to him if he ended up here and not known Dazai. He would had been at a bigger disadvantage and possibly not made it out alive, even with spilling his secrets.

XXX

A Few Months Later

Q was perched on Dazai's shoulders, Chuuya was on his phone, but was keeping an eye on his two brothers at the same time. The Akutagawas were a step behind, coraling Oda's children to make sure they didn't lose any. Oda's children were: Kousuke, Katsumi, Yuu, Shinji and Sakura, with Sakura being the only girl.

Mori and Oda were at the front of the group.

"Do you want to leave the Port Mafia?" Mori asked.

Oda almost missed his step. He stopped preemptively. He studied the doctor for a few moments, conscious of the children behind them. "Yes," he admitted with a grim resolve of a person headed to war.

"Good." Mori started walking again.

Oda cocked his head to the side but followed, as he didn't want anyone behind to run into him.

Mori opened his mouth. "I made a deal, or well, a bet with Kouyou-kun."

Oda's jaw fell open, not at the statement but what had come after.

"If all goes well. . . you can, after this."

Oda's fingers trembled. He forced himself to keep moving forward. He quietly replied, "Mori-sensei, there's nothing I can do to repay you if you can get me and the kids a chance at a new life. What do I need to do?"

Mori cast a look behind them. "We'll talk later," he promised.

XXX

Gin had stayed to help Mori with the children.

Q and Oda's kids got along like a house on fire (the only reason such a thing did not actually happen was because of their watchers's efforts).

Gin was quickly crowned Gin-onee-chan by the children. Yosano-who had gone with the boys to ensure they would stay alive-had already earned being called Yosano-onee-san earlier. As the next on the list, Oda's kid were trying to figure out what to call Mori.

"Jiji (Old man)," Katsumi said.

"I'm in my thirties," Mori deadpanned. He would omit the fact he was in his late thirties, no need to specify.

"Wow, that's so old," Yuu exclaimed.

Mori let out a mental groan. He had forgotten that to children, young and old were rather skewed concepts.

"Ojii-chan (Grandpa)," Sakura declared. Her siblings furiously nodded their heads.

"No," Mori deadpanned.

"Grandpa," all of Oda's children said in unison.

Q was on the floor, trembling with surprised mirth.

Mori felt the urge to drag a hand down his face, he had an idea of how Kouyou felt about being called Ane-san now.

Gin stifled her laughter behind a fist.

Mori stood up. "Alright, brats."

"We're not brats," came the indignant reply from five children.

Mori smirked. "You call me Grandpa, you get called brats."

XXX

Oda and his kids were asleep in the guest bedroom upstairs. Yosano, Q, and the Akutagwa siblings had also gone to sleep upstairs.

Mori was making tea, upon request of his two still awake wards. He had refused to let Chuuya and Dazai have coffee this late. He studied the two as the electric kettle warmed up the water.

Dazai had gained some heart, even if it was torn and often stony. His eyes were still dark, but not cold. The smile on his lips had grown less forced, as it took less effort for him to act happy.

Chuuya had gained mental strength, some smarts and common sense that kept his siblings alive. He had continued to get stronger physically and trained Gin so that she could defend herself. His blue eyes did not remind Mori of the sky, but of Yokohama bay, a far more apt allegory considering the boy's love for the ocean and the city.

Dazai furrowed his eyebrows. "Why are you looking at us like that?"

Mori chuckled. "I'm merely. . .happy about how you two have grown."

XXX

"They declared you dead." Ango looked shaken. He expected Oda to fade away at any moment.

"I apologize. We had to work quickly." Oda lowered his head.

"I'm just glad you're safe." Ango smiled. He had his suspicions about how Oda got out and the shiny new business permit the Port Mafia had gotten, but that could wait for later.

XXX

Chuuya stared at the two boxes of files. "What is this?"

"You're almost an adult, Chuuya-kun. It's time for you to know about your origins." Mori pulled a folder out of the box. He flipped through until he found a stack of photos.

"You know about Arahabaki?" Hope and horror warred in Chuuya's stomach, making him feel queasy.

Mori placed the stack of photos on the table and fanned them out. "Rimbaud had managed to squirrel away some information he had found. After you and Dazai killed him, I investigated what was left of his house."

Chuuya stared at the photographs. They varied from shots of a child floating in a tank to something covered in thick symbols. He picked up one of the latter.

"I suspect those to be sealing symbols," Mori commented. "That's where how they contained Arahabaki."

Chuuya's blood went cold as he finally pushed himself to glance over the pictures of the child. This was him. He knew it.

"Do you want me, or someone else here?"

"If you're not too busy, Mori-san. . ."

"Of course not." Mori waved a hand.

Chuuya nodded, relieved, and took out his phone. He texted Dazai.

Slug: Come downstairs to Mori's office

Mackerel: Why

Slug: There's something you should see

XXX

Dazai was sulking. He couldn't join any organization as he was barely seventeen. His dream of becoming a member of the Armed Detective Agency would stay incomplete for at least a year. "I want to join up with Yosano-chan, Odasaku, Ranpo-kun, and Fukuzawa-dono. But it's so far away!"

"Oh, please. It's only a few months," Chuuya said.

Curiosity entered Dazai's eyes."Who are you going to join?"

Chuuya paused. His pen tapped against his notebook. "Port Mafia." Kouyou would welcome any of them into her organization. Not only that, but she had personally invited Chuuya.

"Opposite sides, huh."

"I'll have an excuse to give Mori-san for when I punch you in the face." Chuuya smirked.

Dazai laughed, not worried in the slightest. "You'd have to be able to hit me first," he teased.

Chuuya rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right." He hesitated and then added, "But we'll always be family, no matter which group we're in."

Dazai wrinkled his nose in mock disgust. "That's pretty sappy."

Chuuya shoved Dazai. "Shut up. You were thinking it too."

The door creaked open. Q came in. He excitedly rambled about his time in the park. He was so very happy, as he had made a new friend.

Chuuya ruffled Q's hair.

Dazai gave a lazy thumbs up and a smirk.

XXX

Two Years Later

Mori watched Elise playing with Q and Oda's children. His ability was acting on its own accord again, but it wasn't doing anything harmful. He let them be despite the effect the scene had on him.

Everyone else notice his change in mood. They saw the flash of something painful making it out of a crack in his otherwise watertight bottle of emotions. They all knew when Mori looked like that, he was being reminded of something. Most days he showed no sign of anything melancholic; other times. . . if watched him carefully one could catch the breaks in his complete self-control.

He never talked about it and they never pressed.

XXX

One Year later

Dazai and Kunikida walked back in the Armed Detective Agency office.

Dazai was in the middle of teasing Kunikida when he was swarmed.

"Uncle Dazai," Oda's children cheered.

Dazai patted a head or two.

"Uncle?" Kunikida questioned.

"Dazai's our fun uncle," Katsumi confirmed, "Like how Uncle Chuuya is our cool uncle."

Dazai trapped Katsumi in a noogie. "Traitor," he accused.

Katsumi stuck his tongue out. "It's true."

XXX

Ryuunosuke Akutagawa stood in the line of new recruits. When his name was called he lined up behind the Executive he would be under, Chuuya Nakahara. When he passed Chuuya to walk behind him, he noticed the small proud smile on his older brother's lip.

Ryuunosuke's eyes darkened. He would not let Chuuya down.

XXX

Q went to the same school as Oda's kids after Mori pulled some strings to get them accepted.

The children all had the same lunch time

It was during lunch that Q realized his friend was there too, his first friend, that he had met at the park. He had a feeling that this school year would be perfect.

XXX

Chuuya watched Kyouka, Kouyou's new apprentice, and Ryuunosuke interact. He waited for several minutes, until the atmosphere tensed. He put his cup of coffee down.

Kyouka was staring at the floor. She gripped the cellphone in her hand tightly, fearing that it might be taken from her.

Chuuya cuffed Ryuunosuke on the head. "Stop acting like Dazai," he tiredly rebuked.

Ryuunosuke scowled and looked away.

"Who are you?" Kyouka quietly asked. She was unsure as to the new person's intentions in intervening.

"Executive Chuuya Nakahara," he introduced.

That would make Chuuya Kyouka's boss's boss. She nodded.

"If you have any trouble, feel free to come to me. I know Ane-san is busy," Chuuya smirked wryly, "And Akutagawa here isn't good with problems he can't kill."

Ryuunosuke blushed slightly. "Chuuya-nii," he hissed under his breath.

Chuuya laughed.

XXX

Mori looked at the drawing in his hands. He held it gently so as to not wrinkle it. He had forgotten about this. How could he have forgotten?

"I made this drawing a long time ago. I thought I had lost it." His lips tightened into a smile, the effort was excruciating. "Thank you."

Q beamed at him.

XXX

Chuuya, Yosano, Dazai, and Oda were drinking. Ango had opted out tonight, as he had to work late.

Chuuya and Yosano split a bottle of wine between them, while the other two went with whiskey.

Of course, this was their family, so they had to make bets.

"Yosano-chan, I bet you can't win against me in a game of pool. Bragging rights," Dazai smiled.

Chuuya was the best at pool among them. He had beaten Dazai and Yosano several times. But, Yosano and Dazai hadn't gone against each other before.

Yosano downed the rest of her glass with a smirk. "And for the loser?"

"Loser has to eat this cat food." Dazai put a can down on the booth table.

Chuuya's expression melted into disbelief. "Dazai, why do you have a can of cat food on you in the first place?"

XXX

Dazai stretched himself over the couch. He closed his eyes. "Interesting argument I heard. All we know about God is from others."

"So?" A hint of mockery entered Mori's voice. "Does that ultimately mean everything everyone has ever said about God is false? Citations needed."

Dazai laughed. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

XXX

Ango couldn't help his curiosity.

Chief Taneda looked at his agent. He gave one warning. "Don't look into those files again unless you want to attract the attention of General Yamashita. Drop your private investigation."

General Yamashita was trouble for anyone. But he was even worse for ability users.

Ango's expression turned grim. He nodded at his boss.

Curiosity was often a bad thing in their line of work.

XXX

One Year later

Dazai walked into work with a hat that could only be described as. . .bizarre.

Kunikida stared at his partner. "Why?"

"Bet," Yosano cheerfully explained to her coworker. She patted Dazai's shoulder in mock sympathy as she headed to the infirmary.

XXX

Gin joined the Port Mafia as soon as she turned eighteen. She quickly made her way to the position of a commander of the Black Lizards, despite not being an ability user.

XXX

That morning, Akutagawa had became an Executive. It was on short notice, but a party was organized.

Oda picked up his kids and Q from school. Chuuya brought Kyouka. Gin and Dazai were there of course. Yosano and Kouyou had been unable to get off work.

The discussion and games dragged on until night had fallen.

Oda's kids and Q claimed the boys bedroom. Gin and Kyouka had the girl's bedroom. Oda had the guest room. Dazai, Chuuya, and Ryuunosuke were in the living room.

The streets gained a sheet of water.

There was the pitter-patter of rain on the rooftop-an annoying drizzle that refused to stick to a pattern and let one sleep.

Mori stared out of the kitchen window. He had a full cup of tea in his hands that was growing cold. He couldn't sleep.

Storms, as usual, seemed to fill him up with unavoidable melancholy and bitterness.

A/N

So if you didn't get why Mori had to create a new wound, its because Yosano healed Ango's gunshot wound. Mori made a new wound in a non vital area to give Ango a passable explanation for what happened.

Chuuya is the cool uncle. Don't me.

Timeline note: We're almost caught up to the present day. Mori is 37, Yosano is 25, Dazai/Chuuya are 21, Akutagawa is 19, Gin is 18, and Q is 12.

Chapters:

1-Mori

2-Yosano

3-Fukuzawa

4-Dazai

5-Chuuya

6-Akutagawa

7-Q

8-Oda

Next: 9-?

-Silver


End file.
